As I engage in class discussions, I feel like I am in the film “Groundhog Day,” hearing the same watered-down conversations on political issues over and over again. The heedless repetition of political phrases is a byproduct of cancel culture.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cancel culture is “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.” Cancel culture creates a hierarchy of opinions where certain opinions are given ascendancy over others. It encourages students who believe in the superiority of mainstream opinions to cancel those who disagree, preventing any chance to have educational moments and empathy within political discourse.