Political Correctness Gone Mad
by fromtheheartland on August 16, 2005 05:02PM (EST)
Is it just me or has political correctness taken the plunge into the absurd? While listening to a local talk radio show the host was just about to say “councilman” in reference to a female council member. But, stopped in mid-word to correct himself & say “councilwoman.” Even the fact that I used the word “council member” is telling about the condition of our society when it relates to political correctness.
Do you remember when “man” in the context of councilman meant mankind? Our society has become so fragile that traditional meanings have been lost or traded in exchange for the meanings learned at “sensitivity training seminars.” Have we forgotten that “women” are also a part of mankind? Or, would it be politically correct to say “womankind?”
With this new trend I guess it would be fitting that we set up a “sensitivity council” to reword all of our founding documents that have references to “man.” Or, does this fact mean that our founders wanted only men to have rights & women to remain subservient? I hope you’re beginning to see the absurdity in political correctness at this point.
This political correctness has found it’s way into other parts of life. All blacks have become African-Americans. All Spanish speaking folks have become Latinos; to include those from South & Central America as well as all related islands. No longer can we call them Mexicans, or Puerto-Ricans, or Africans, or even Jamaicans. We must lump them into an unidentifiable generic label. Putting “America” at the end of an identifying name, I believe, is still acceptable. Of course there’s African-American, Mexican-American & Arab-American. Even “Indians” have given way to “Native-Americans.”
Now, I am not suggesting that we return to mean spirited derogatory terms as the norm. But, I just don’t believe that identifying labels constitutes racism. Nor do I believe using traditional words such as “councilman” or “mailman” or “congressman” is intended to keep women subservient to men. On the contrary; it makes them our equals by not identifying them as something different.
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