Political Correctness Will Destroy Us

Political correctness is a phrase people began exploiting in the 20th century. It has run its course and I, personally, am wishing to completely do away with it. I am so turned off by people saying what they think other people want to hear, including things said to me, and not what needs to be said. Most people play it safe and cling to the little control they think they have by saying what they think others want to hear. This is wrong and has weakened our society. Most people today are all about finding and living in their “comfort zone” in life.

A survey by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll states that Americans are largely against the country becoming more politically correct. Fifty-two percent of Americans have said they are against the country becoming more politically correct and are upset that there are too many things people can't say anymore. I am convinced that political correctness is destroying America — but not in the way you might think. It isn’t the principles of political correctness that are impeding dialogue and change, but the name itself. “Political correctness,” as a term, implies division. It assigns common courtesy and politeness a spot on the political spectrum. It seems to refer to a covering up or a watering down.

I grew up with a district attorney as a mother and was taught to always speak my mind. I was taught to fight for what’s right and not to back down. From a young age she taught me that by doing so the right people would ultimately surround me and be loyal to my personal and professional goals. And while it has hurt at times while climbing the career ladder, having certain people back away from me and tell me I was wrong, ultimately, and I can now say this at 46 years old, has allowed me to be surrounded with some of the finest and strongest people I have ever know. My late mother, I think, would be proud.

The term “politically correct” is one of the most incendiary phrases of contemporary political jargon. Advocates for values deemed politically correct — anti-racism, anti-misogyny, anti-homophobia, anti-semitism and so on — suggest that being politically correct is simply that: correct. Why would anyone want to be anything else — unless, that is, they are motivated by bigotry, or something worse?

It’s morally lazy to do nothing and never grow; it’s easier to maintain your beliefs are good than recognize perhaps you don’t know the lived experiences of others. The bubble of always living a "comfort zone" has protected some from the toxic drops of persecution, in different forms, that are raining down on everyone else.

This position appears reasonable enough, and it might even be undisputable if it didn’t seek to obscure an underlying impulse — for political correction. Under regimes of political correctness, political correction is the typical response for those voicing “incorrect” opinions. Indeed, imposing “correct” ideas by the “necessary” means is precisely the crux of the problem.

A discussion of political correction is well-served by tracking this political label to its earliest appearance. Official Soviet sources show that the term politicheskaya korrektnost (political correctness) was used as early as 1921 to positively describe “correct” thinking. As expected, its author was none other than the primary architect of the Bolshevik revolution, Vladimir Lenin. Lenin’s promotion and later enforcement of political correctness followed from his notion of parti?nost, or party spirit, which also stood for “party truth,” or the correct interpretation of the world and everything in it. After the revolution, political correctness was enforced by the Soviet terror. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao’s Red Guard later adopted and adapted “autocritique,” a technique for the enforcement of political correctness, while adding “struggle sessions” for good measure.

Marginalized people’s voices deserve to be heard in a society that fails them by propping up the status quo. Indeed, calls for civility after marginalized or targeted people fight back—sometimes less than cordially—do nothing but uphold the status quo. As Katherine Cross notes in her essay on recent acts of “uncivil” behavior, this is straight out of the abuser’s playbook: “There is merit in the observation that abusers define any resistance to their actions as rude and uncivil, that they apply one standard to themselves and another to any who might raise a voice against them. That’s long been the case here.”

All “political correctness” means is basic decency and respect, an active effort to listen, a recognition our actions affect others. Wanting others to feel welcome should be a basic tenet of being a member of society, since a society where people feel equal is a better society for all. So if that feels like an attack, perhaps it’s time to rethink your strategy of defending your beliefs.