Politics/Social:The Problem: Political Correctness...The first topic of this new blog is to discuss the issue of political correctness. There has been a movement in the United States that started around the late sixties when minorities especially African Americans were seeking equality and trying to fit into a society that they helped to create and build. Unfortunately, that same society failed to accept as equals, these wonderful people as brothers and sisters of our ‘Free’ nation.
As a result of the disparity between the rights of some individuals being more honored than those of others, an effort was started to ensure that equality was available for every citizen. Social programs started under President Johnson helped to overhaul our public service agencies. Laws were put into place to ensure that women and minorities had fair and equitable occupational opportunities and our educational systems underwent a revolution of integration.
The movement for society to become increasingly more sensitive to the needs of all Americans was appropriate and praise the Lord for those who risked life and limb to advance the idea that all people are equal and deserve a fair shot at living the American dream.
Time, however, has not been kind to the cause of equality and fairness and somewhere along the line the train that climbed the steep hill of resistance with forethought and deliberation has become a locomotive steaming out of control, rushing down the hill of absurdity and irresponsibility.
There will be many topics that we will discuss that will deal with issues of fairness and equality and political correctness will be the fulcrum that will tilt the scales one way or the other.
It is in my opinion, that our attempts to ensure that everyone receives the same size piece of the pie regardless weather or not it is earned or the desire to not offend someone has weakened us as a Nation and has made much of the Constitution weak and threatens to void it all together. We as a society are heading down a road of socialistic destruction and we are wasting the hard work and dedication that our forefathers and mothers devoted their lives to provide for us.
Today the permeation of political correctness in all areas of our lives is causing the truth to be hidden and creates an environment where average citizens have been forced to forfeit their rights to free speech, their rights to career progression through hard work and perseverance, their rights to compete fairly for educational opportunities and their rights to create a safe and secure community environment for their families.
Please allow me to explain. We have situations in our society where an individual can be penalized for speaking the truth or expressing an opinion. For example I was at a medical conference a few years ago and I was sitting through a lecture on the current status of HIV research and treatment regimes. The presenter of this lecture was obviously well versed on the subject matter but when he completed his presentation he had failed to mention preventative measures or to speak on the matter of prevalence of the spread of HIV in certain communities. As a result, he was asked about this information and he was very clear to inform us that the governing body who was presenting the conference would not allow him to give information that would cast any particular groups of people in a negative light. So, he was not allowed to provide the prevalent spread of HIV among homosexuals, or to suggest that HIV is spread through irresponsible sexual behavior like having unprotected sex or having intercourse with more than one partner.
As a result of this restriction, this physician was unable to speak the truth that says simply that HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that is spread more predominantly in one group of individuals more than others and that irresponsible sexual behavior is at the core of this problem. Why was this information not allowed? Because the organizers of the conference did not want to offend the homosexual community or to imply that abstinence or having protective sex or limiting sexual activity to one partner was the best measure in which to fight this terrible disease.
This type of restrictive oversight is not only absurd, it is dangerous. Political correctness prevents us from speaking what is the truth and as a result effective solutions to our societal problems are much more difficult to achieve.
Truth, no matter how ugly or offending, must never take a back seat to political correctness. We are currently having serious social and economic problems that are tearing away the pillars of our great nation.
We must stop cowering in the corner fearful to speak the truth because we are afraid of the back lash that the truth would bring. The truth is objective and unfeeling, illuminating and revealing, piercing and direct. The truth is not always pleasant but it must always be the basis for our decision making process.
In Danville, Illinois, where I live, we have a problem with drugs, prostitution, and crime. This was not always the case in our community. The truth is that the crime rate more than tripled
after our city decided to open a public housing project and accept displaced people from the housing projects of Chicago. Our jail is packed with people who have entered into our community because of the public housing. When the police blotters are reviewed it is clear that the majority of criminal activity is caused from people living in or associating with individuals who live in the projects.
Now our city has been afraid to address this problem because the majority of people who live in the projects are African Americans and the city does not want to offend that population of people. So, no effort to confront the Housing Authority on this problem has been made. No effort to encourage and assist individuals in these projects to find a better way of life has been implemented and no effort to go in and remove the criminal element has effectively been accomplished. I ask, Why!?!
The particular race of our criminals is not the concern. What does matter is that we have a large number of criminals among those who live in our public housing projects. That is the truth and in order for us to combat this criminal element we need to identify and accept that public housing projects are breeding grounds for criminal conduct. In similar fashion, we need to combat areas where other criminal activity occurs. If meth is being made in rural white America then we go after it. If embezzling occurs among executives in a financial institution then we need to go after it. If crime is committed anywhere, we go after it. But to simply allow criminal conduct to go on because it is politically incorrect to address it is insane.
As our community of Danville, continues to walk on the eggshells of political correctness our city is falling apart. Businesses have left, productive citizens are moving out, and our streets have become a war zone.
Political correctness also affects other areas of our lives. In our work places, companies have been mandated to hire individuals based on race rather than on the qualifications and abilities of an individual. As a result of this discrimination, companies are forced to hire less qualified individuals and consequently, the quality and productivity of their company is potentially diminished. The motivation to work hard and to become proficient in a career field is stolen when hard work and talent is ignored in place of filling mandates. Why do we accept mediocrity in place of quality? Why should those most qualified person for a position, be denied? Why are we creating a culture where we punish hard work and devotion?
I simply do not see how it is in the best interest for our government to enforce racial quotas on our business community. I believe that the most qualified person applying for a position should be hired for that position. It is that easy. If the person is white, black, male, or female, he or she, if the most qualified should be offered the position. To do otherwise is inherently wrong and punishes those individuals who have worked harder and are more deserving.
Our educational system has endured some of the most devastating effects of political correctness gone wild. Colleges are required to accept students based not on academic achievement but based on color of skin or athletic ability.
Our colleges are filled with students who, despite having a lower SAT, ACT, and/or GPA, were accepted over student who scored higher in all areas of admission requirements. Why? Because our colleges are required to seat a certain percentage of individuals based on race and not on based academic achievement.
Athletes are often times allowed admission to prestigious universities because they excel at a sport. Unfortunately, not all of these athletes are academic successes, yet honor students are denied admission to universities because a bone-headed athlete is taking up the seat. I love athletics but I love education even more and as our universities sole purpose is to educate our young adults, it simply doesn’t make sense to make athletics a higher priority than academics.
Highly qualified students are being denied entrance into medical schools because the law requires that foreign trained students receive priority admission above more qualified American students... This is simply unacceptable, yet, unfortunately it is the standard at universities all over the United States.
Freedom of Speech, perhaps one of the most important constitutional rights provided us in our founding document has been intruded upon by political correctness. Facts and opinions once encouraged and embraced have become vilified and in some cases, made illegal by our own legislatures. Just yesterday a contestant in the Miss America pageant was asked her opinion as her definition of marriage. She said she believed that marriage was defined as a union between one man and one woman. Well, a fire storm of controversy has erupted from the liberal base and this young lady has been humiliated and threatened and has been forced to publically apologize for her opinion. Where is the freedom of speech here? It is ironic that newspapers and media outlets can print slanderous lies about people but a young lady offering her own personally held beliefs is ostracized.
When free speech is impeded then truth and democracy is assaulted. Limiting free speech is dangerous as it stifles the ability of an individual or group to express concerns that affect them in most profound ways. Now, let’s be clear. Slanderous and abusive speech should never be tolerated. Any speech that threatens the life or liberty of another individual does need to be reviewed. However, we are living in a time where truthful speech that is important to communicate is being prevented by political correctness.
As you know, illegal immigration is a huge problem for us. Yet officers, when apprehending a suspect are not allowed to ask the person if they are legal residence of the United States. Now, you and I have to present identification and a driver’s license if we are pulled over, but in many states, especially southern boarder states, law enforcement is not allowed to ask for the same identification. Why? Because authorities believe that we would offend the Hispanic community. Consequently, our laws are not allowed to be enforced and these individuals are free to continue snubbing their noses at our country’s legal system.
Political correctness impinges on free speech in some very personal areas of our life and we may not even recognize it when it happens. For example, recently in California (Of Course) a school suspended a young man because he wore a shirt with the American Flag embroidered on the front. The school said that wearing of the flag would offend other students who may come from a different background or culture. Since when has the American Flag become politically incorrect? Athletic teams have been barred from saying a prayer prior to a sporting event. Clubs and organizations have been prevented from making patriotic remarks. And Christian symbols have been removed from display because they are offensive even though other religious symbols are allowed.
Political correctness and the fear of offending others is nonsense and must be stopped. The truth must be the cornerstone to our way of life. Sometimes the truth hurts but situations are not made better when we run from the truth and hide behind political correctness.
At some point, we as a nation are going to have to step up and let our elected officials know that we are tired of the restrictions in our life that political correctness has placed. We need to speak loudly and be proud that we speak the truth regardless of who it offends. If we cower in the face of political correctness then we are doomed, at some point, to fail as a nation. Our identity as Americans and as a proud country is fading away. Even now some people are afraid to stand up and say that I am honored to be an American. Some of these intimidated individuals are our elected officials.
Possible Solutions:It is time to speak up. I would encourage everyone to become involved in your community. Let your opinions be known. Get out and vote when elections are held. Write to your congressman when laws and regulations are being implement simply because of the pressure that political correctness has place. Stop allowing political correctness to push you around. Be proud to speak the truth when an issue arises that affects you or your community. The power of political correctness will only lose its power when we unite as a community and say ‘enough is enough’.
In the military, we live by a code of conduct which says simply that a person will act in a responsible manner, treat others with respect, and have a solid work ethic. Career progression is up to the individual and everyone pulls his or her own weight for the betterment of the group. I would love to see our society live by a fair and honest code of conduct instead of the tortured and fluid rules of political correctness.
