MS Word and Synonyms

Okay...I have to rant for a moment.

To any who know me, I like to write on the computer. The words seem to flow more easily when I'm sitting at the keyboard. Maybe its partially that I hate the sight of my own handwriting but that is a completely different subject.

Back to my writing....I have tried several different programs but I really like MS Word. Overall, its a good program. When I am writing, I don't always have a dictionary or thesaurus handy but MS Word has a built-in thesaurus function and many times that's all I need to find the right word that I am looking for. However, the other day while writing a new chapter in 'Enter the Wolf' - I needed a different word for slave. And what did MS Word suggest you might ask? Nothing...nada. Knowing that the word serf was similar but not exactly what I wanted either, I tried that. What what my suggestion? Nothing....nada.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Thesaurus as: A book of selected words, a dictionary of synonyms are related words. That same dictionary defines a synonym as: A word having the same or similar meaning as another word. How do you think the dictionary defines serf? 1) a member of a feudal class of people in Europe, bound to the land and owned by a lord. 2) a slave  And the definition of slave? 1) One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household

My point is, why wouldn't MS Word at least give me the word 'serf' when I went looking for a synonym for 'slave'? I'm not mentioning several other synonyms I found for 'slave' in a printed thesaurus I had lying around. Could it be that Microsoft is trying to be politically correct? I have to think so... but why? Why would a company as large and global as Microsoft worry about being politically correct in a thesaurus function in a writing program?

Words are only tools. It isn't any particular word that is politically incorrect, it is how people use those words. Which is something wonderful when you think about it. Words can be used for good or ill. It all depends on the speaker or the writer. So...how have you used your words today?