Political Correctness

[geocajun]

Merriam Webster defines it like so:

Main Entry: political correctness
Function: noun
: conformity to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities should be eliminated

I am not a big fan of it. I think "Political correctness" is the worst form of censorship because we impose it on ourselves.
If the United States government was to tell Americans that they could not speak publically about anything which anyone else might find offensive, there would be massive revolt.
Yet, somehow this twisted idea has surfaced that by imposing this sort of limitation on ourselves we are somehow more free.
Does anyone have any theory where this belief came from?

I see this happening here on christianforums as well. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this? I am not asking this to start any sort of flame war - in fact, if this thread gets nasty, then I am asking the mods in advance to lock it up.

I do however think that this should be discussed. As Catholics we constitute only around 10% of the userbase on this forum.
It should be no suprise than when the teachings of our Church are brought up on this largely Protestant board, it is provocative to say the least.

We are fortunate to have the "One Bread, One Body" safe-haven and we owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of this forum for being our voice when we have needed it. And for protecting our little slice of safety on this board where we can currently talk about our faith without fear of being banned for it. We are doing great work here as well. Alot of folks come to OBOB to ask questions and they are getting compelling answers, and it has resulting in some conversions. We should be thankful for that.

What about when you venture out into other forums? do you see a real exchange of ideas? I am afraid that what I see most often is alot of ranting about nothing at all, and when someone says something substantive, it almost always results in an emotional flame war. It seems like a by product of the political correctness is that adults are afraid to enter into a disagreement over anything, no matter how trivial it is.

I wonder what can be done to reverse the problem of political correctness?
Any ideas?

 

[Alexis OCA]

I wonder what can be done to reverse the problem of political correctness?
Any ideas?

I don't hold out much hope. The prevailing philosophy of many (especially in the USA) is, "It's nice to be nice." People are more worried about offending rather than defending the truth.

The politically correct generally lack backbone. They want to be liked, and they live in a fantasy land where they actually believe we can all get along if we just keep our deeply held beliefs personal and private.

 

[geocajun]

I don't hold out much hope. The prevailing philosophy of many (especially in the USA) is, "It's nice to be nice." People are more worried about offending rather than defending the truth.

The politically correct generally lack backbone. They want to be liked, and they live in a fantasy land where they actually believe we can all get along if we just keep our deeply held beliefs personal and private.

I think it was Chesterton who said that one day people will debate if 4+4 really equals 8.

 

[cool2bCatholic]

I've noticed this too...I think "political correctness" is nonsense, because truthfully, if you are compromising your faith to make people "feel good",then you are disgracing your faith by watering it down. People need to hear the truth, and it is possible to be polite while presenting it, without compromising your beliefs. The best solution in my opinion is to prioritize faith before feelings. Present the facts as polite as possible, but never back down from what you know is right. "What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular."
God bless you and Pax Christi!
Angela

 

[Ann M]

Actually I believe the thread we had recently on how the Christians in your part of the world are taking Christmas back from the politically correct was a great start. So often we are asked to hide our true selves, and in doing so we do each other a great disservice. My family knows my views on many subjects, as do my friends, and they respect that, for they know that I am being open and honest with them. It's very much a what you see is what you get situation. On the other hand I have a few people - family and in-laws were I don't trust what comes out of their mouths, because they are being so 'correct?' that they portray the 'perfect' situation.

Actually one of my pet peeves on this board in the pc area is the number of people who hide behind a generic icon - christian or protestant, and if you try to ask questions about where they stand in the denominationl tree, they go up in flames over you invading their privacy.

 

[Asimis]

Political Correctness is Politically Incorrect.

Seriously it is at the root of the disease of postmodernism, the idea is to rob people of any form of personal identity or opinion in order to "tunnel vision" people's minds into living in a materialistic society driven by consumerism.

 

[Michelina]

Geo, I think that there is something more to political correctness. Underlying it, and secretly contained within it, is an assertion that all opinions are ultimately equal and that truth is relative to the beholder. This is indifferentism and a recipe for social decline along the lines of "least common denominator" thinking. That is why I despise 'political correctness'.

 

[PeterPaul]

I just want to comment specifically on CF. I think the PC attitude is overwhelming. I sometimes get the feeling the only thing standing in the way of CF making OBOB more "tolerant" to other beliefs (aka flaming) and not getting warnings and deletions in our own forum are the Mods. They are the wall attempting to preserve OBOB. If they were not there, I'm afraid even calling the Church true would be considered taboo. Any claim that our faith is not only unique but sole would be replete with banishment.

 

[Asimis]

Geo, I think that there is something more to political correctness. Underlying it, and secretly contained within it, is an assertion that all opinions are ultimately equal and that truth is relative to the beholder. This is indifferentism and a recipe for social decline along the lines of "least common denominator" thinking. That is why I despise 'political correctness'.

Exactly! It is a recipe for apathy. The idea that truth is relative and that all opinions are equally valid lead to mediocrity and as a consequence as you said it leads to social decline. Why? Because people are encouraged not to think and to simply carry on with their work and produce more money to spend it supporting the very structure that has them enslaved in this mindset.

 

[PeterPaul]

Exactly! It is a recipe for apathy. The idea that truth is relative and that all opinions are equally valid lead to mediocrity and as a consequence as you said it leads to social decline. Why? Because people are encouraged not to think and to simply carry on with their work and produce more money to spend it supporting the very structure that has them enslaved in this mindset.

I think it was Chesterton who said that if he couldn't write about religion or politics then there was nothing worth writing about.

 

[geocajun]

Geo, I think that there is something more to political correctness. Underlying it, and secretly contained within it, is an assertion that all opinions are ultimately equal and that truth is relative to the beholder. This is indifferentism and a recipe for social decline along the lines of "least common denominator" thinking. That is why I despise 'political correctness'.

Its funny you say that. I was listening to Hannity's radio show for a few minutes on the way home from work today, and the guy subbing for him was ranting about how we should all be open to learning about everyones religion, and then went on to say that nobody has the right to tell anyone else they are wrong about their religion. His theory was that people are afraid to talk about religion because they are afraid of being told they were wrong. Apparently he thinks if he can convince people that everyone is right, they will be more apt to discuss their personal beliefs.

All I could think of while listening to that was "wow... apparently they will let anyone sub for hannity"

 

[PeterPaul]

Its funny you say that. I was listening to Hannity's radio show for a few minutes on the way home from work today, and the guy subbing for him was ranting about how we should all be open to learning about everyones religion, and then went on to say that nobody has the right to tell anyone else they are wrong about their religion. His theory was that people are afraid to talk about religion because they are afraid of being told they were wrong. Apparently he thinks if he can convince people that everyone is right, they will be more apt to discuss their personal beliefs.

All I could think of while listening to that was "wow... apparently they will let anyone sub for hannity"

The problem isn't even niceties, but rather that men want to be liked. Me, I prefer to be reviled.

 

[geocajun]

I just want to comment specifically on CF. I think the PC attitude is overwhelming. I sometimes get the feeling the only thing standing in the way of CF making OBOB more "tolerant" to other beliefs (aka flaming) and not getting warnings and deletions in our own forum are the Mods. They are the wall attempting to preserve OBOB. If they were not there, I'm afraid even calling the Church true would be considered taboo. Any claim that our faith is not only unique but sole would be replete with banishment.

exactly. Three cheers for the OBOB mods!

 

[Asimis]

The problem isn't even niceties, but rather that men want to be liked. Me, I prefer to be reviled.

Me too and if it is for my religion all the better. People try so hard to be accepted by others and to meet the standards society impose to them. Take women for example(excuse to the ladies of the board no offense intended) they go out and buy the latest Cosmopolitan and Vogue and take everything on there as gospel: dress like this, lose weight, real men like this, etc, etc. It is nothing but a microwave ready personality which destroys all sort of individual thought.

 

[PeterPaul]

Me too and if it is for my religion all the better. People try so hard to be accepted by others and to meet the standards society impose to them. Take women for example(excuse to the ladies of the board no offense intended) they go out and buy the latest Cosmopolitan and Vogue and take everything on there as gospel: dress like this, lose weight, real men like this, etc, etc. It is nothing but a microwave ready personality which destroys all sort of individual thought.

Exactly. A friend of mine showed me the cover to Cosmopolitan once and I had to laugh. It read something like "How to eat as much chocolate as you want and lose 20 lbs".

Truth and tradition has a knack for the obvious. No matter how many would like to circumvent it, they always end up facing it, whether in the gym or at the grave.

 

[Carrye]

Exactly. A friend of mine showed me the cover to Cosmopolitan once and I had to laugh. It read something like "How to eat as much chocolate as you want and lose 20 lbs".

You're saying that I've been mislead? Say it ain't so. Say it AIN'T SO!

 

[Mystery5]

Well, I post on another forum that is Catholic and tends to be conservative. This is definately different. I have noticed some anti-Catholic sentiments in my short stay here. I just posted on a thread where folks polled on whether Mother Theresa is in Heaven or Hell. A good number voted she is in Hell.

The whole site is definately predicated on Evangelical theology, I've noticed. But, it's an interesting site, and OBOB is really a nice corner of it.

 

[marciadietrich]

The real problem with political correctness, more than trying to say everything is equally valid, is that there is actually a movement to make traditional views disallowed as intolerant, but intolerance of traditional views is pushed. So it isn't really even what what it pretends to be.

 

[PeterPaul]

I think it was Tolkien who said that most men don't contemplate blasphemies of Norse gods, so surely blasphemers must, while abhoring Christianity, be implicit in their belief of it.

 

[Crispie]

Political Correctness is wordly, yes, and it limits us. Ought we to follow the traditions and regulations of men? No! We are in the freedom of Christ, and we are to obey the commands of Christ in spreading the Gospel and the Word of God, and any mention that does offend others is not for us to worry about, for we are here to fulfill Gods, not mans, commands.