Political Correctness - Essay Example

Political Correctness Wikipedia, the internet resource for terms and s, defines political correctness as “a term used to describe language or behavior which is intended, or said to be intended, to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups.” (www.wikipedia.org/politicalcorrectness) This term has been developed for use particularly in the United States, although the concept has been aligned with political groups, such as the Nazis in Germany, who went along the party line.

Now the concept has to do with the political right (the conservatives) in the United States. There are controversial issues associated with the terminology—those who are “pro” politically correct, and those who are “con” politically correct. The “pro” for changing the language has to do with the need to not have human beings stereotyped. One example of this is the “hillbilly” and “redneck” stereotype, which has recently been changed to “Appalachian Americans,” leaving people from this cultural background now open to scholarships and grants for which they might not have been eligible previously.

Arguments abound against this issue, saying that it doesn’t give enough “freedom of speech” to the public and gives an unfair advantage to those of the political left. In order to remember which is which, think in terms of “left” as liberal and “right” as correct and conservative. If that becomes difficult, think of left hand and right hand. Most people see the right hand as the “correct” hand to use. This concept can be explained with the language used to describe the Indians who are indigenous to North America.

It was only in the latter part of the twentieth century that these people were called anything other than Indian. They now are Native Americans in the United States, First Nations and Aboriginals in Canada, and Amerindians or derivatives thereof. None of these are universally used and none are considered exactly “politically correct.” The politically correctness is found in humor, especially through such comedians as Bill Mahr, who hosted a television show called “Politically Incorrect.

” George Carlin also had a comical routine titled “Euphemisms. There are comically written books related to this topic. Among them are two of the earlier and famous examples are 1992s Politically Correct Manifesto by Saul Jerushalmy and Rens Zbignieuw X and 1994s Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner, in which traditional fairy tales are rewritten from an exaggerated PC viewpoint. (Wikapedia.org/politicallyincorrect). In the UK there is a website devoted to anti-political correctness-- http://www.capc.co.uk/. This site gives way to “common sense” as a priority in the linguistic battle of words.

It appears that Political Correctness is a very hot topic in politics, language and every day use. There are enough “logic” and “reason” on both sides of the controversy to choose one side or the other and still be able to understand the “other side’s” viewpoint. The comedic approach to it fascinates me, as it takes a great intelligence and understanding to be able to make others laugh at what appears to be totally absurd! After reading about this topic and writing about it, more understanding of the emotional content that goes with the political correct language, as well as to fundamentally learn not to offend anyone is needed.

This is almost impossible in today’s world of “anti-gay,” “anti-women,” “anti-Indian,” “anti-Muslim,” and “anti-semetism” and “anti- anything else” that we can find. If we could all laugh at ourselves, then we could enjoy laughter with others and perhaps we would not need to be so “politically correct.”Referencewww.wikapedia.org/politicalincorrect./www.capc.co.uk/