Question: Is the word "should" necessary. It is a word that always needs a following phrase: "according to". We are told we should do things, or we should be a certain way. According to whom? The speaker? Society? The church? Any sentence including "should" could be reworded.

"Should" is used to control people. It is used to shame someone into changing behavior. That's not to say the meaning of the sentence is always bad, but without context, the open ended interpretation feels like the world has made a decision and you must aquiesce.

Whenever you use the word "should" try to follow up with context.

Example: You should clean your room if you don't want to trip on your toys.

Too often "should" can imply conditional acceptance. The person you are speaking to will fill in the context of you don't.

I think we are better off trying to avoid the word all together. In most scenarios we will express ourselves better without it. Instead of: "You should go to the store.", say "Please go to the store.", or "Will you go to the store?"

The worst is when constraints are being imposed.

"You should take your husband's last name."

According to whom? Or what?

The sentence is unfinished, but the listener fills in:

- or I'm a bad person
- or I will displease you
- or I have less value

What do you think about the word " should"? Do we get rid of it? Try not to use it? Or is it fine as it is?