Political Correctness

by Eduardo del Buey

Hello ladies and gentlemen, today’s guest on the videocast is David Gollob, former Central American correspondent for the CBC, the BBC, NPR, and Mcleans magazine. Today’s topic is political correctness. If you like what you see, hear, and read, please invite friends and colleagues to subscribe. Many thanks!

“We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people

will not be offended”

Isaac Asimov

Political Correctness

Political correctness means avoiding language and actions that insult, exclude or harm people.

At present, I believe that political correctness has drifted past respect for others into a netherworld that can only be described as absurd and surreal.

Problem is…

The problem is acute in countries run by centre left governments. Over the course of this century, they, like their counterparts on the right, have been overrun by the extreme elements of their parties or of their governing partners.

I have always believed that people should be free to love whom they want, should be free to marry whom they want, and should be entitled to believe in whatever religion or spiritual path that appeals to them.

We have lost our way…

And this is where we appear to have lost our way in preferring political correctness over common sense. The pendulum is now beginning to swing back. More and more people are rejecting political correctness and all that this implies for basic human rights and individual dignity.

The thief in the night…

Political correctness has robbed us of many things.

Comedians who used to rib others good naturedly are silenced on television and in films. Anything they say is now analysed seven ways to Sunday. One can no longer try to be funny without imposing an incredible amount of self-censorship.

Burn history…

Many people are being held accountable for things they said or did twenty years ago when it was part of the common culture.

Leaders who were great in their time are now being chastised for living and acting according to the norms of yesterday.

Statues are being torn down, street names are being changed, and pages are being torn out of history books to satisfy the demands of small minorities without taking into account the context of the times in which these leaders lived.

Victim mentality…

Political correctness has led to the creation of a victim mentality among many who now feel empowered to take on the world at the slightest hint of criticism.

This has empowered small groups of people to amplify their discontent and leverage human rights legislation and social media to force governments to create senseless policies.

As an example, when the Canadian government places female sanitary products in all government male restrooms. They have adopted this policy in the name of gender parity without weighing the consequences. The consequences are ridicule, not to mention cost.

Isn’t it ridiculous to allow men to use women’s toilets because they claim to be women when their genitalia are male?

How would we react to seeing a man who claimed to be a dog if he peed on the street at a fire hydrant? Wouldn’t we think he was mad?

Things that are important are being trivialized by the behaviour of these minority groups, and the results are outrageous.

Selective History…

Schools are ripping pages out of history books and courses out of curricula since some small groups may be offended. For example, First Nations groups and their sympathizers have accused Christopher Columbus of crimes against humanity for landing on this hemisphere’s shores.

What happened five hundred years ago cannot be changed, and to hold any one culture or nationality responsible today makes no sense.

A Feminist Foreign Policy…

In fact, common sense has been supplanted by the feminist foreign policy the Canadian government has adopted. Many diversity, equity and integration policies have, in many cases, proven ridiculous.

We must respect other cultures and allow them to develop at their own pace.

Absent this, we will find ourselves wasting much treasure and blood as we did in Afghanistan.

Trying to impose one culture’s values on another culture goes against all common sense.

Calling for gender equality in parliaments goes against the principle of voting freely. How can a democratic government believe it can force gender equality in elected posts without compromising this principle?

Immigration…

Multiculturalism must be balanced by a requirement to maintain our fundamental values intact and our identity well defined.

Common sense dictates that those who choose to come and join our society should also assimilate and adopt and respect our values. Apart from economic considerations, willingness to accept our values regarding feminism, sexual identity, religious tolerance and our legal system are the core issues behind proper vetting of individuals immigrating to our shores.

Today we see our streets filled with violent protestors who seek to destroy what generations of Canadians have built.

It makes no sense to allow them to remain and continue their quest to supplant our values with those of another place and another time.

Possible solutions…

Political correctness has led to a devaluation of the people expressing legitimate concerns and reduced our ability to assess real injustices.

Can we avoid the pendulum swinging to the extreme right and somehow return to centrist (read majority) thinking and adopt common sense in our governance?

Yes we can.

We can elect leaders with a backbone to apply existing laws equitably across the board and not shirk from their duties out of bias or fear.  Leaders who do not share warped views of societal behaviour or fear losing votes on the extremes of their parties. They should act to put down violence instead of cowering in fear.

Conclusions…

The choice is ours.

The solutions are in our hands as voters and citizens.

We must force our leaders on the right and the left back to the rational political center if we are to survive as democracies.

Absent this, we all lose.

Videocast: