Political correctness
vinlyn
Colorado...for now Veteran
Over the last few days -- particularly since the Confederate flag issue has come to the forefront -- I have been thinking about political correctness.
In addition to the flag issue, just a week ago there was an article on one of the major online news sources about Jerry Seinfeld and how politically incorrect he is and how he doesn't understand modern audiences. Other articles have discussed that comedians shouldn't worry about political correctness.
With the flag issue has come the issue of other Confederate symbolism. Do they get torn down, as well? Do we tear down all the Confederate statues at Gettysburg, for example?
What about a program like "All In The Family" or the old Dean Martin roasts. Do we banish them. Do we destroy the historic film "Birth Of The Nation" and "Gone With The Wind"?
What is the place of political correctness in America?
Do we tear down our history, or do we start to actually deal with it?
Do I go up and drag my HOA president off the platform when she begins a Christian prayer, ignoring -- as she does -- that there may be Jews or Buddhists in our development?
Thoughts?
Comments
All in the Family is a great example because it dealt with the issues nobody wanted airing.
History should be remembered-lest we forget-but we should learn from the mistakes and not glorify them.
The statues in question for example would be great additions to a museum but not a park.
So you advocate tearing down all the Confederate statues at Gettysburg.
What should we do with Confederate cemeteries?
Is political correctness just to the victors belong the spoils?
For example, the Buddha statues that were destroyed in Afghanistan a few years ago. Was that just the Taliban's version of their cultural political correctness?
It's really none of my business but I would move the statues, not wreck them.
I'd be the wrong one to ask about cemeteries too... Seems like a waste of space to me. Soon we will have more graves than trees.
Well, I try to practice compassion but I am no fan of PC...
I've always seen political correctness as striving towards a society that puts everybody on the same level.
It's not just a wish not to offend, it's deeper than that.
I am not intending to be arumentative when I say that PC, in most cases strikes me as being an affectation. The irony is we already are on the same level yet, yet often times we have a need to create the us/them dynamic and saying "sportspersonship" instead of "sportsmanship" isn't going to change that. PC to me is sort of like the fellow who puts a "save the planet" bumper sticker on his huge SUV then drives around like he's making a difference.
I agree with your goal tho...
In the army, when we were all subjected to what seemed like interminable lectures on one topic or another (sex, weapons, military courtesy, etc.) most of us learned not to yawn and most especially not to ask questions ... asking questions meant the lecture's length would be extended.
Still, now and then, there would be something worth listening to. One day, an army chaplain who was talking about whatever he was talking about remarked, "If a man says anything -- anything at all -- there will always be 20 good men to agree with him." The corollary was clear in his statement -- there would always be 20 good men to disagree as well.
Taste is taste and there is no accounting for it. So, depending on circumstances, state your preference if that is what's called for; sugar coat it with political correctness if that seems useful; and stand ready to receive both applause and/or catcalls.
This is sometimes called being a grown-up.
At the moment in USA and UK we are being spoon fed the idea that secularisation is good and Islam is probably worse than inquisition style witchcraft.
Buddhist meditation is flavour of the month.
[shrug]
The church used to be the thought directors but less so (thank speghetthi monster).
The confederate flag is meaningless in the UK but the British flag was hijacked by racists for many years. Now I see young moslems proudly wearing union jacks (british flags).
Just fashion, association and meaning attachment. Now please stand for the National Anthem, pledge and refuge ...
I pledge allegiance,
To the Buddha,
Of the United States Of Nirvana,
And to the Dharma,
For which we sit,
One Mind,
Under Sangha,
Indivisible,
With Liberty,
And Metta for all
[Cue Mindfulness Bell ...]
The quote I most liked from the eulogy President Obama gave in South Carolina yesterday was:
"Reverend Pinckney once said, “Across the South, we have a deep appreciation of history -- we haven’t always had a deep appreciation of each other’s history.” What is true in the South is true for America. Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. That my liberty depends on you being free, too. (Applause.) That history can’t be a sword to justify injustice, or a shield against progress, but must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past -- how to break the cycle.