During a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, Texas July 7, a lone sniper killed five police officers, according to CNN. The Black Lives Matter movement condemned the incident and Ms. Rohini Sethi, a University of Houston student and vice president of the University’s Student Government Association, responded by posting “Forget #BlackLivesMatter; more like #AllLivesMatter,” on her Facebook page.
As a result, the Student Government Association suspended her position for 55 days and required her to attend a Libra Project diversity workshop and at least three cultural events at the University per month. She also had to write a reflection on the error of her ways and present it publicly during a September Senate meeting on campus, according to the University of Houston newspaper thedailycougar.com. All of this happened because she exercised her right as an American citizen to express her opinion about the events unfolding around her. Unfortunately, the University declared that her opinion was offensive, and therefore, should not be expressed.
Virginia school districts temporarily pulled Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the shelves and the curriculum after receiving a complaint that the novel was offensive. They also considered banning it permanently. NewSouth Books publishing company even produced a new version of the book that replaced all racial slurs and offensive phrases with safe language, according to washingtonpost.com.
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York discourages professors and students from using the titles Mr., Mrs., and Miss to address one another because they promote gender binaries, according to youdontsay.org.
All of these are examples of political correctness run amok. Outwardly, this method of social engineering that is sweeping the nation is a mode of expression, or, rather, an ideology that promotes open-mindedness, welcomes diversity, furthers equality, and respects other beliefs. In reality, it accomplishes exactly the opposite.
Supporters of political correctness see it simply as a way to be respectful and sensitive to all people. This is a genuine sentiment and an essential one for any civil and harmonious democracy. The problem, however, is that political correctness has evolved into a powerful means of social engineering. It states that there is only one correct opinion — the “politically correct” opinion. This method of censorship attempts to sway public opinion in a specific, preordained direction. Rather than encouraging engagement in civil discourse, it shuts opponents down by labeling their ideas not only as incorrect, but as ignorant, intolerant, and bigoted. If people hear this message every day on social media, on the news, and in conversation, what are they going to believe?
For example, if you are pro-life, you are sexist.
If you are for immigration reform, you are xenophobic.
If you support stop and frisk, you are racist.
What began as a crusade for tolerance has become a political strategy that uses intimidation to shut people down and shut people up. Citizens are so afraid that they might cause offense that they choose not to open their mouths in the first place.
As a result, the movement for political correctness is eroding free speech. We now live in a society in which universities post lists of banned words and phrases, students aggressively attack people of different political persuasions, and schools and publishing companies seek to censor and eliminate classic literature that, right, wrong, or indifferent, is part of the human narrative.
Highlighting these problems is not an attempt to restrict the free speech of those who believe in political correctness. These people, of course, have the right to not say certain words, or accept certain opinions. This is a plea for all Americans not to use their freedom of speech to limit the free speech of others. We cannot make progress or create unity by retreating into our respective “safe spaces” and shutting one another down. Instead, people of all races, religions, and political persuasions need to come together and engage civilly with those who have different beliefs. This is the only way to solve problems.
Those who follow politically correct protocol are not usually ill-intentioned, but, rather, see their mission as a way of accepting diversity and rooting out offensive rhetoric. Yet, all too often, this actually limits diversity of ideas and promotes the use of labels through a form of groupthink.
Political correctness claims to be a friend to diversity, yet in a world where we want to be more tolerant, more embracing of differences, it is a shame that we must be so cautious in how we discuss these issues. This does not lead to community. It leads to disunity. Instead of talking about controversial subjects such as race, religion, and sexuality, people tend to shy away from them rather than risk using the incorrect word. This puts the nation into intellectual and civic shackles, and it simply should not be.
While we certainly do not want to promote racial slurs like those in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we do not want to erase them either. Removing words like these does not remove slavery or racism from American history. In fact, a crucial step to making lasting progress is recognizing and remembering what we did wrong.
Similarly, there is something wrong with a society that admonishes a student for expressing her grief over the death of a policeman, and then humiliates her by forcing her to undergo training to alter her beliefs and give a public dissertation rejecting her former opinions.
We do not want to regulate language to the degree seen on college campuses today where it is impossible to have a conversation that is not riddled with unknown micro-aggressions or to post on Facebook without causing unintentional offense. If we continue in this vein, we will be left with only good or ungood to express ourselves, the newspeak skillfully portended in George Orwell’s 1984, an utter betrayal of the ideals and values our Founding Fathers established this nation upon.
Ultimately, political correctness does not solve problems. It does not lead to compromise. It does not invite genuine, intellectual, and political dialogue. Instead, it muddies the waters, making any foray into the political arena dangerous and unpredictable, and likely to end in personal humiliation and unintentional offense. Society must endeavor to be respectful of all races, cultures, traditions, and religions, but not through censorship and political shaming. We should embrace our American constitutional right to free speech and remember that in the search for truth, nothing is more powerful than free, civil, and diverse discourse.
-Elizabeth Bachmann, Content Editor
King Street Chronicle
King Street Chronicle
Political correctness: progress or censorship?
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Vincent Badagliacca • Feb 6, 2017 at 9:36 pm
Elizabeth, you so right to be concerned about this issue, especially as you and your classmates will soon be confronted with the assault on free speech so prevalent these days on university campuses.
While our founders were indeed flawed (aren’t we all?), that doesn’t detract from their incredible wisdom in creating the greatest charter of freedom the world has ever known, our Constitution, and with it, the guarantees of liberty found in our Bill of Rights. Ben Franklin said this about free speech:
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
If we don’t demonstrate civility toward and respect for the ideas of others, we never listen to or challenge existing norms or the ideas we hold. They are never put to the test. We might not agree with others, but we should listen to, think about, and analyze their ideas. If we don’t, all of us suffer from an incrementally diminished and less vibrant liberty.
Rick Bria • Feb 6, 2017 at 5:49 pm
Elizabeth,
I am amazed how well written and on target this article is. So much so that I was compelled to comment.
You are wise beyond your years.
Bravo!
Nina Rosenblum • Feb 6, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Political correctness, in my opinion, is benign. For instance, calling Native Americans what they ARE, and giving them the respect they, and every other ethnic culture deserves, instead of referring them as “Indians,” which is incorrect and based on notions that were disproved HUNDREDS of years ago. (talk about outdated)
It’s beneficial for society that outdated, incorrect and and often offensive phrases are eliminated or replaced…to promote tolerance and unity.
I think we can all agree, calling someone “mentally impaired” is inherently better than “retarded.”
The root of changing phrases that are normalized to categorize a group of people is because they have derogative connotations that have been used in the past to ridicule or mock. The connotation sticks.
Speech, as a constantly evolving social force, as you mention, should not be censored, but modern society pushes us now to be more understanding, less ignorant and dispose of deep seated biases that shape our view of the world before we can even experience it.
This is the true purpose of Politically Correct terms.
Universities, encourage, not punish the use of these terms, such as…
illegal alien, crazy, insane, retarded, “tranny,” gay, gypped, “fag,” ghetto, and “raghead,” according to a The College Fix report.
The University of Michigan also does not want students using phrases like, like “I want to die” and “that test raped me.”
At universities, it is not an infringemnt of free speech, because there is no enforcement.
“This program is intended to be educational, not regulatory. We hope there is only the understanding that we all participate in, and have the power to influence campus culture.” said Dean of University of Michigan, according to http://www.inquisitr.com/1832592/university-of-michigan-inclusive-language-campaign-banned-words-list-sparks-free-speech-debate/.
Using these terms will not bring unity. If anything, it will cause even more disunity than you claim there is. These terms perpetuate the issue of transphobia, homophobia, sexism, ableism, (etc.) and do not determine “individuality”or “freedom of thought.”
If those are the values that you truly believe, then there are millions of words to use to express your opinion rather than the widespread and diluted slang used today.
Just my thoughts. This is a well written article.
Izzy Sio • Feb 6, 2017 at 10:40 am
Elizabeth this is so well-written and powerful, and I loved every word of it! The graphic is amazing too 🙂 Hope you’re doing well!