"Political Correctness is tyranny with manners." -Charles Heston
I sit watching the national news on a Tuesday night. A story of the upcoming presidential election is being told by the anchor. A video of Mr. Donald J. Trump standing at a podium addressing a football stadium's worth of people.
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"Political correctness," he says, "is this country's biggest problem!" His cheeks turning a hot shade of red as he preaches his opinion. The murmur of the crowd gets louder and louder with every word he speaks. "Why be politically correct, WHEN DOING SO MAKES YOU WRONG?!" This incites a raging roar of the masses standing below him. The camera pans out to Mr. Trump's view of the audience. They shake their fists and push and shove while screaming what one can only imagine is anger, but is inaudible to the camera.
I can't help but think about the chalk drawing on the sidewalk on my college campus that I pass everyday on the way to class. The drawing features a giant circle labeled "The Wall". Within the circle are the words "Legal Citizens". Outside of the circle says "Immigrants" and "ISIS". I wonder how many students who are children of immigrants walk by that drawing everyday. I wonder how many students who identify as Muslim walk by, and how many of those students watched the debate where Mr. Trump suggested a ban on all Muslims in the country, in hopes that the ban would eradicate the presence of ISIS in the United States.
An article recently shared by one of my Facebook friends comes to mind as well. Hillary Duff's unfortunate Halloween costume had incited criticism about her insensitivity towards Native Americans and the strife they have endured for centuries. The article mentioned her apology for her pilgrim and Native American couple costume with her boyfriend. She stated that she did not mean to offend anyone and will continue to be more understanding of the cultural appropriation and oppression of the Native community. This seemed normal enough. A celebrity made a mistake and immediately issued a public apology to remedy the situation. The real drama begins in the comments.
"Its just a COSTUME!" Why can't we dress like Indians?? It's not offensive!"
"They have no right to complain! They have everything the need! Whiny libtards!"
"What a ridiculous thing to complain about. Liberals need to stop focusing on their timy egos and start thinking about real issues. Like illegal immigration and getting rid of Obama Hussein's brain child OBAMACARE."
"I don't even feel bad about what happened to the Indians! This is my country and I'll take it back with my 2nd amendment right!"
Nothing confuses me more than this mentality. What makes a person think that acknowledging another culture's struggles means that they will lose their own rights? How can on equate compassion to tyranny? Where did this skewed mentality come from?
"po·lit·i·cal cor·rect·ness
[pəˈlidəkəl kəˈrek(t)nəs]
1. the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against."
When we look at the legitimate definition of the term "political correctness" we see that it is truly rooted in compassion. As children in school or at home we are always taught that "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at al" and "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". These things are engrained into our head. We are taught the pointlessness of rude, nasty, or insulting behavior. Taking that fact into account makes the lack of empathy that is commonly held for those of another culture or lifestyle than one's own seems unwarranted.
Again the question is posed: Where did this skewed mentality come from? What has caused the perpetuation of insults becoming a part of our acceptable social behavior? When did giving a shit about other's feelings become wrong? If we look at the roots of the comments made by anti-p.c. people we can gather that this idea can come from virtually anything.
Ignorance to the oppression of certain groups of people can be seen in some comments. Some seem genuinely confused as to why it is inappropriate to dress in sacred artifacts like a headdress just for entertainment purposes. Economics obviously plays a role in the lack of compassion as well. It seems like there is often a generic template for P.C. bashing comments: "I shouldn't have to pay for [insert race or culture] to get free stuff and not contribute to society just because they are sissies and get offended easily!" We also see plain and simple prejudice in the minds of some of these people.
"I don't even feel bad about what happened to the Indians!" This comment really struck an angry cord with me. The struggle and strife of this group is being completely belittled in this comment. This exemplifies complete complacency for the well-being of another culture, simply because it is not one's own culture.
As I sit on my couch on a Tuesday night and wonder about all of these things, I also think about what I can do to help remedy the situation. I think that the best thing that any of us could do is simply have compassion for others. Cast aside all pre-conceived notions about any kind of person you meet. Millennials are no longer basement-dwelling losers, Immigrants are no longer terrorists, and people are no longer inherently bad. We are all people and should treat each other as such, with love, kindness, and empathy. That is political correctness.
