The Unexplainable Political Fears of TV and Movies

We in Chuckonia want to pose an interesting scenario to our readers and patriots.
After sleeping in on this lovely Saturday morning, we awoke to find one of our favorite films, Back to the Future, airing on USA Network. While watching the last half of the movie, it came to an important scene in which Marty McFly attempts to warn Doc Brown of the fact that he will be brutally shot to death in 1985. As Doc does not want to compromise the stability of the space-time continuum by knowing too much about the future, he refuses to listen to his concerned friend. Still planning to warn Doc somehow, Marty goes to Lou's Cafe nearby and sits down to write a letter to be opened in 1985. Knowing the film as we do (basically being able to quote it) we noticed something missing in the letter written by Marty. In the original film, and every televised incarnation since its 1985 release, the letter as written and read by Marty has gone like this: "Dear Doctor Brown, On the night I go back in time, you will be shot by terrorists. Please take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this terrible disaster. Your friend, Marty." However, in today's broadcast of the film by USA Network, the letter-writing scene was edited, so that when Marty read the letter back to himself, it read thusly, "Dear Doctor Brown, On the night I go back in time, you will be shot. Please take whatever precautions are necessary to prevent this terrible disaster. Your friend, Marty." They did not let him say the words "by terrorists." In fact, when the camera moves down to actually show the letter, the words "by terrorists" are erased from the page (didn't know a network could edit that much). This was an interesting twist to us, as it goes beyond editing for adult content or time but edits for political implication. In the film, the terrorists were Libyans from whom Doc Brown obtained plutonium for his time machine. While Libya's relations with the U.S. and the rest of the world have changed somewhat over the years, they are far from holding "Favored Nation Status." In our post-9/11 world, have we decided that "terrorist" is a profane expression, a faux pas, and a dirty word? Have we gotten to the point that we want to avoid declaring any old enemies as terrorists, even in 1980s science-fiction movies? Are we worried about kids seeing something on television that makes them turn to a parent and ask "What's a terrorist?" More importantly, are we worried that socially and politically ignorant parents would find a hard time explaining it? Why should such a move be made over 20 years after a Cold War-era fiction film was released? If you can answer these questions, then you're smarter than we are. We welcome your input on it. And until next time, as Doc Brown would say, "See you in the future."