In a world where an NFL team name perpetuates a 24-hour debate, organizations are kicked off college campuses for themed parties being “insensitive,” and New York City school boards try to ban the word “dinosaur” for fear of offending those who do not believe in evolution, political correctness, or “being PC” has gone way too far.
Political correctness deems certain topics, ideas, expressions and even symbols off-limits. What once started as an effort not to offend has spiraled in to a cause of censorship, conflict and limitation of fundamental freedoms. In the past decade, political correctness has ballooned to unacceptable levels, threating the very ideals this nation was founded on. It is now spreading throughout even the most minute details of American society.
In this day and age those willing to make the biggest fuss, the PC vigilantes or PC Police, so to speak, seek to set the agenda for what constitutes offensive or unacceptable speech. But this violates the principles of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
Fans of the “The Colbert Report” were taught a lesson in the current state of PC recently when a Twitter activist decided to call for Comedy Central to #CancelColbert after she took a tweet blatantly out of context and called for the shows cancellation. This incident serves as a perfect launching pad for some of the most ludicrous stories regarding the PC police in recent years.
For example: Halloween has been banned in some school districts for being “overtly religious.” In Seattle, “brownbag lunch” is no longer allowed in government documents or programs, so not as to appear biased or racist. Some schools have changed “Easter Eggs” to “Spring Spheres” and in some places, movements exist to change the term “snowman” to “snowperson.” The list goes on and on, each example seemingly more preposterous than the last.
Other than just robbing us of our cardinal civil liberties, the over-the-top PC movement has further, unintended ramifications that are lost on all of those who further push its absurd agenda. Not only does political correctness wrongly censor personal opinions, but it does nothing to address any underlying problems driving statements and actions in question. Often times it just breeds increased resentment or relegates the topic to non-discussion — that is not progress.
When the policing of this thought crime occurs, minds are not being changed — but hearts are being hardened. Consensus, understanding and acceptance can only come through open dialogue. You cannot change someone’s mind by censoring his or her thoughts or words. If we ever hope to overcome the underlying hostility that remains present in modern society, we must resist crying “bully” any time somebody hurts our feelings. Being occasionally offended is a small price to pay for the right to free speech that so many people around the world can only dream of.
At its worst, the overbearing political correctness is no different from the Orwellian idea of newspeak — the effort to change the way people think by changing the way they speak. We are at a point in this country where people need to grow up and realize that there are a lot real of problems out there that are more important than whether “snowman” is sexist.