PC OR NAH

he Truth about Political Correctness In today’s expanding world, communication is always evolving. With new creations and the technological revolution, our language is rapidly growing larger and more complex with increased vocabulary and new phrases. At the same time, much of our vocabulary tends to become old-fashioned and, in turn, our language is becoming more limited in certain areas. An extensive amount of this limitation is a product of an on-going movement of political correctness. This new trend of speaking and writing “PC” is limiting our language and putting effective communication at risk. It has become an almost self-censorship, forcing people to change their true thoughts into ideas that don’t seem offensive to anybody else. It’s getting in the way for our society’s right for freedom of speech and it’s challenging our first amendment rights. How can a movement which objects our essential freedoms be seen as a good thing? John Leo goes into this misfortune is his book, “Free Inquiry? Not on Campus.” His book is about the examination of the history and range of obstacles towards freedom of speech for our universities. “PC” is decreasing the types and variety of articles that are seen published, and while it is limiting the information the public can access. Because trying to be “PC” is crippling creativity, the fear of not being “PC” is spreading across our nation; therefore, the PC culture should not be supported. Political Correctness is a new line of thinking which is notably up to the minute now. Its meaning is still somewhat indistinct and disagreed upon. John Leo says in his text, “Free Inquiry? Not on Campus” that “The censorships have only grown in power, elevating anti-discrimination rules above absolutist free principle rules” (593/Free Inquiry? Not on Campus). The fact that PCness, realistically, is such a big importance of our time is what makes it so disheartening. It is fast spreading across our nation. This trend has also especially been seen at college campuses around our nation. Going back to the same text, Leo states, “Official censorship—now renamed speech codes and anti-harassment codes—pervades the campuses…Found that over 68% explicitly prohibit speech that the first amendment would protect if uttered off campus” (594/Free Inquiry? Not on Campus). These professors believe that it has become a modern day sort of brainwashing, the molding of ideas of our youth and forcing them to fall in with the so-called “right opinions.” But, political correctness is not a simple trend of our teenage livelihood. Its significance is being witnessed far beyond college campuses. It is challenging our right to freedom of speech. It is also question our ideas when it comes to media coverage and creative observations. Not only has our first amendment rights been tested by political correctness, but our freedom of creativity is in jeopardy too. This is seen today in our media coverage. The media is feeling the heat to adapt to the new trend in our society as well. Dan Seligman of the Wall Street Journal had an interesting intake on the situation. Seligman states, “ A scathing report on media political correctness and its accompanying distortions of reality will persuade most readers—that something has gone seriously wrong in our country’s news rooms, now massively committed to the ideology of diversity (Seligman/Wall Street Journal.) The media is afraid to say what it thinks so they manipulate their ideas to fit the PC image, this in turn, censors the information that the public is allowed to receive. This highlights the lack of righteousness and accurateness which has been allowed due to this popular trend. This warped picture is passed onto the public resulting in a lack of information to society. The first amendment guarantees one’s right to freedom of speech. The significance of this pledge is regularly talked about as well as is its place in today’s society. Political correctness is constantly provoking our freedom to say as we please. This is seen as our societies’ speech is now often self-censored. George Orwell wrote an intense fictional novel called “1984” about the evils of our society and talks about a world in which all ideas are observed by an organization called the “thought police.” Going to his text, “The B vocabulary consisted of words which had been deliberately constructed for political purposes: words, that is to say, which were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them” (377/1984). This results in the confining of ideas and a lack of protesting. Also, this story also brings some sort of perception into our modern-day tragedy. Political correctness has apparently connected a member of the “thought police” into all the minds of our society, obstructing and filtering the ideas which we hold true. Political correctness is changing the way we view each other and it is limiting the ways in which we communicate. Political correctness is now more than ever, a commanding force of our society. It has become so impactful that it is affecting the way in which we think and share our ideas. This trend, which may have been seen as beneficial, is now being questioned for different reasons. It is limiting our speech and challenging our first amendment right. This is represented through such policies as imposed speech codes at our universities. Also, the peer pressure to be “PC” is creating a type of self-censorship, as we have learned to change our speech into what is seen as acceptable by society standards. In addition to the limitations of our speech, our society’s information is being suppressed as a result of the media’s following of political correctness. Many of our vital forms of communication are being distorted by this craze. Political correctness must now be understood by all so that it will no longer cause harm to our society, but only giving protection and at the same time, fulfilling its main point from the start.