Political correctness hinders full, robust debate on controversial issues

Several weeks ago, a couple of events spawned a firestorm of debate and discussion.

A racially-motivated church shooting in South Carolina, coupled with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the redefinition of marriage, fueled some passionate discourse on those two very varied matters.

The back-and-forth got so heated that friendships, real-life and online, were ended.

More than one person was seen to remark that their social media feeds made it appear as if the Civil War had broken out in a Skittles factory, so many graphics of Confederate battle flags and rainbows were posted.

While robust discussion of history and current events is always a good thing, some folks involved in those parallel debates went into them with a very one-sided view. Many of them feel that if you oppose the redefinition of marriage, you’re a bigot or a homophobe (one of the most-misused words in the English language today), and if you support the display of the Rebel flag or don’t want Jefferson Davis’ statue removed from the Kentucky Capitol, you’re a racist.

Any surprise that those opinions are mostly held by people on the left side of the political aisle? Does anyone else shake their head at the irony that the people who preach tolerance and acceptance are some of the most intolerant and unaccepting people in the world?

Here’s a news flash. Not everyone who opposes the redefinition of marriage hates homosexuals. Some have very valid religious reasons for their beliefs. Others think the court decision changing the definition of marriage nationally and taking the ability to define who can get married away from the states is flawed.

People who display the Rebel flag aren’t necessarily endorsing racism. Some use that image as a symbol of a rural, southern lifestyle. They aren’t advocating a return to the days when blacks were slaved.  They see it as a representation of fast cars, loud trucks, camping, hunting, fishing, cold beer, “Dukes of Hazzard” and country music.

But in today’s politically correct society, it doesn’t matter the intent of the expression. What matters is how it’s perceived. And if some group takes offense at something, then by all means it must be changed or eliminated.

The assumption that people who oppose the redefinition of marriage hate homosexuals, or that people who fly Rebel flags are racist, has stifled an honest discussion of the issues. Many are afraid to make their true feelings known on these and other subjects, lest they be branded with unflattering and untrue descriptions and suffer repercussions for their opinions. Telling the truth has somehow become less important than making sure no one is offended.

For years, persons who came to America without going through proper channels were called “illegal aliens.” That is a perfect term to describe them and their status. Yet that term has somehow become offensive, with the politically correct crowd preferring the terms “undocumented immigrant” or “undocumented worker.” That has led to a number of jokes, one of the most popular being that we can’t call a drug dealer by that term anymore; we have to call them “unlicensed pharmacists.” Another controversy broke out last week over the use of the term “anchor baby” to describe children born to illegal aliens – excuse me, undocumented immigrants.

My humorous observation is that I’m surprised there hasn’t been a movement to get the British rock group Genesis to change the name of its early 1980s hit song “Illegal Alien” to something more PC.

But there’s nothing humorous about how the concept of political correctness keeps us from having a serious discussion of the issues. One of the reasons Donald Trump has found popularity as a presidential candidate is because of his bluntness.  During the recent Republican presidential debate in Cleveland, Trump addressed the subject. "I think the big problem this country has -- is being politically correct," Trump "And I don't frankly have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either."

People don’t want to be described in ways that aren’t necessarily true. Who wants to be branded a racist or a homophobe just because you disagree with current popular opinion? It’s gotten to the point that if you counter the phrase “black lives matter” with the statement, “all lives matter,” you’re politically incorrect. Some politicians have even apologized after being criticized for saying “all lives matter,” proving that it’s often easier to cave to the prevailing sentiment than to stand up for truth.

We have to get past this notion that no one should be offended if we are going to have a frank, open and honest dialogue on important issues. Until we do, we can’t expect things to get better.