2008 Woodie Awards
Political correctness is tool of many political agendas
Phoenix Jordan
Contributing Writer
Issue date: 3/26/07 Section: Opinion
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I have never been a fan of political correctness. I used to think of it as a tool in the left's attempts to interject our minds and our culture with their socialist vision for America.
However, as I have matured and have become wiser, I have seen the follies in my own view. I still must admit I am not a fan of political correctness, but in moderation it does have some possible benefits. Additionally, to think of political correctness as a tool that is exploited solely by the left is inconsistent with reality. Perhaps it was my realization that even conservatives have our own version of political correctness that has caused me to rethink my view. My views on political correctness were not only inconsistent with reality, but were incoherent within the framework of my own system of beliefs.
So what exactly is political correctness? In a broad definitional sense, it could possibly be seen as any attempt to limit speech, or at the very least, certain "inappropriate" words or phrases within our speech, in an effort to not overly offend any particular peoples. Many times political correctness is associated with a political agenda of a particular group.
A key gripe about political correctness is that it limits speech, sometimes to the point of eliminating productive and relevant debate. Whether in politics, academia or any other field, any time productive and relevant debate is curtailed for fear of offense - or for any other reason, for that matter - an injustice definitely occurs. Political correctness should never interfere with a genuine pursuit of truth. The marketplace of ideas is weakened by political correctness, which, in the long run, can only prove to be counterproductive to outcomes.
However, in a much moderated sense, the same factors that contribute to this shortcoming can also contribute to a more positive aspect of political correctness. Political correctness does force us to recognize our biases of language, whether these linguistic biases are only accidental or genuine. Through these recognitions, we can choose as good people to not offend unnecessarily. However, we shouldn't let the fear of offense limit relevant debate or turn us into political correctness yellowbellies.
However, as I have matured and have become wiser, I have seen the follies in my own view. I still must admit I am not a fan of political correctness, but in moderation it does have some possible benefits. Additionally, to think of political correctness as a tool that is exploited solely by the left is inconsistent with reality. Perhaps it was my realization that even conservatives have our own version of political correctness that has caused me to rethink my view. My views on political correctness were not only inconsistent with reality, but were incoherent within the framework of my own system of beliefs.
So what exactly is political correctness? In a broad definitional sense, it could possibly be seen as any attempt to limit speech, or at the very least, certain "inappropriate" words or phrases within our speech, in an effort to not overly offend any particular peoples. Many times political correctness is associated with a political agenda of a particular group.
A key gripe about political correctness is that it limits speech, sometimes to the point of eliminating productive and relevant debate. Whether in politics, academia or any other field, any time productive and relevant debate is curtailed for fear of offense - or for any other reason, for that matter - an injustice definitely occurs. Political correctness should never interfere with a genuine pursuit of truth. The marketplace of ideas is weakened by political correctness, which, in the long run, can only prove to be counterproductive to outcomes.
However, in a much moderated sense, the same factors that contribute to this shortcoming can also contribute to a more positive aspect of political correctness. Political correctness does force us to recognize our biases of language, whether these linguistic biases are only accidental or genuine. Through these recognitions, we can choose as good people to not offend unnecessarily. However, we shouldn't let the fear of offense limit relevant debate or turn us into political correctness yellowbellies.
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