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Political Correctness

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term “politically correct” as “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.” In today’s society, it would not be easy to find a more mixed and tit-for-tat term than it is.

Proponents of political correctness argue that it has indeed made some progress in advancing the protection of minority rights in American society. For example, it led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s, and a series of “affirmative action” laws based on them, which provided for minorities and disadvantaged groups to be given “preferential treatment.” Opponents, on the other hand, have turned the tables, for example, in response to the enactment of a 2016 bill in New York City that allows Transgender people to freely use the restrooms of their chosen gender to show that New York is “the keeper of the liberal spirit of America.” In response, American actor James Woods sarcastically said that “while the world is fighting for terrorism, hunger, and disease, the Democratic Party in the United States is fighting for men to be able to go to the toilet in the women’s room.” During the presidency, Donald Trump slammed the idea, and there was a flurry of anti ‘politically correct’ social activism.

The origin of the term 'political correctness, according to Britannica, first appeared in Marxist-Leninist vocabulary following the Russian Revolution of 1917. At that time, it was used to describe adherence to the policies and principles of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Then it was given other meanings throughout history; for example, in the Black Power and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, it was used to describe those who had stepped out of political orthodoxy and the ideology of the Civil Rights Movement. However, a reversal of meaning ensued, with Ruth Perry, professor of literature at MIT, noting that 'The attack on the 'politically correct, in the universities is an attack on the theory and practice of affirmative action-a legacy of the sixties and seventies-defined as the recruitment to an institution of students and faculty who do not conform to what has always constituted the population of academic institutions: usually white, middle-class, straight, male.

The “political idea” of focusing on the plight of disadvantaged and under-represented groups is a thoroughly good thing; instead, it has become a tool for attacking it. Those in privileged positions have weaponized it to silence those marginalized voices, but it is necessary to counter the ‘disturbing criticism.’ It is easy to do so; it is common to want to ignore the realities of discrimination, significantly when they do not affect that person. While political correctness has been ‘given’ various definitions, it is not the antithesis of free choice or free speech. There is power in discourse, and prejudice and discrimination can be just as damaging in today’s socio-political environment. What politically correct critics call the “good old days,” the days when the offense could be taken without reproach, are and must be long gone.

References

“Political Correctness - Wikipedia”. 2022. En.Wikipedia.Org.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness#cite_note-EBPC-23.
“Political Correctness | Definition, Origin, History, & Facts”. 2022.
Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-correctness. “‘Politically
Correct’: The Phrase Has Gone From Wisdom To Weapon”. 2022. NPR.Org.
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/12/14/505324427/politically-correct-the-phrase-has-gone-from-wisdom-to-weapon.
James Woods. @RealJamesWoods]. (2016, April,17). The world is fighting
Islamic terrorism, starvation, and disease, but democrats are
fighting for men to pee in the ladies’ room. #insanity [Tweet].
Twitter. https://twitter.com/realjameswoods/status/721816116771721216