I believe the phrase politically correct is unhelpful.
This phrase has been around for some time, but it became a dominant feature of cultural discourse this last election cycle.
Donald Trump and Political Correctness
Donald Trump made political correctness or rather ‘anti-political correctness’ the centerpiece of his political campaign. He portrayed himself as a maverick, bucking political jargon and certain political agendas. In one of the republican debates, Trump said:
“I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I have been challenged by so many people, and I don’t, frankly, have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time, either.”
What did he mean?
It is hard to know exactly what President Trump means by the phrase political correctness. To my knowledge, he has not given a clear definition of what he means by it. However, during his campaign, some folks seemed to have an idea of what he meant.
What Some People Mean by This Phrase
In an interview, Clint Eastwood once said regarding political correctness: “Everybody’s walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist.”[1]
In the same interview, Eastwood added that candidate Trump was just “saying what’s on his mind”, and that is why he was appealing to so many people. To folks like Clint Eastwood, it seems that political correctness refers to the act of hindering free speech in some way.
In regards to political correctness, Frank Luntz, adviser to Republicans said, “Allegations of racism and sexism have turned into powerful silencing devices.” It seems like for folks like Luntz political correctness refers to using political clout to silence dissension or disagreement.
Some More Thoughts on Political Correctness
In a thoughtful article in The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf examines the evolution of the phrase political correctness and what exactly this phrase might mean. Friedersdorf suggests, “Political correctness was a problem insofar as it elevated deference to political sensibilities over stating or acting on the truth–ignoring nuanced situations and counter-arguments in order to act in a way comported with political sensibilities.”
Friedersdorf rightly suggests that sometimes, or even often, there is a problem in politics with manipulating the facts to fit one’s political proclivities.
I can partially understand some of these concerns. I have certainly been in circles where people silenced (or shredded) someone who had a legitimate question. They did so simply because he or she did not use the right language or articulate the accepted view.
When People Silence Legitimate Concerns
People can certainly use language and group pressure to dominate and control others. This problem occurs in both liberal and conservative circles.
Political correctness can be a problem, but, many criticisms of political correctness are motivated by poor thinking habits. You can read more about this here:
I’m Just Telling It Like It Is: I Do Not Think That Phrase Means What You Think It Means
Everyone and No One is Politically Correct
It is important to note that if political correctness is manipulating facts to fit one’s political sensibilities, everyone does this and no one does this (or no one means to do this). We like to think that we are completely logical, objective, and clear-sighted when we observe the world around us, but that is not actually how human thinking works.
To be human is to come to any set of facts with preconceived notions. We must form these preconceived notions in order to survive in the world and get anything done.
For example, from an early age, we form ideas about which situations and people are dangerous or safe. We do this out of self-preservation.
We also develop preconceived notions about what is moral and immoral. Of course, we do this from a desire to satisfy our conscience.
Lastly, we develop notions about what actions are effective and which ones are not. Certainly, we do this in order to get stuff done.
We Want to Be Safe, Good, Effective
Everyone wants to be safe, good, and effective and develop preconceived notions according. The problem is that our preconceived notions affect and distort how we see the world, and they cause us to ignore some facts and focus on others.
In addition, our preconceived notions cause us to consider some views (and facts) as illegitimate (safe, good, effective) and others as illegitimate (unsafe, bad, ineffective).[2]
Here is the other thing:
Some of our preconceived notions are right, and some of them are wrong. This is true about every single person.
Sometimes we think certain things or people are dangerous or safe, and later we find out we are wrong.
Other times, we think a certain action is moral or immoral and later we find out we are wrong.
In addition, sometimes we think a certain action is effective, and later we find out we are wrong. In fact, we can believe something our whole entire life and find out at the end that we are wrong.
Being wrong is not the solely the problem of the young or uneducated or liberal or conservative. It is a condition of being human, from which no person is immune.
We All Possess Preconceived Notions
All of the views we have—especially our political views—are influenced by preconceived notions about what is safe, good, and effective (or not). So, when people adopt a certain political view, they usually do not do so simply because it is politically correct.
They do it because they believe, somehow, that the view contributes to safety, goodness, and effectiveness.
Where the Problem Lies
The real problem is that we all have different views of what contributes to safety, goodness, and effectiveness. These views lead all of us to discount certain views or facts and embrace others. That is why everyone practices some sort of political correctness.
If you hang around long enough in various political circles, you will find that both parties consider certain topics illegitimate or taboo.
Subjects Taboo in Conservative and Liberal Circles
For instance, in most conservative circles, if you try to argue sincerely for issues like socialism or affirmative action, people will consider you intellectually inferior and potentially dangerous.
The same is true in liberal circles if you try to argue for issues like laissez-faire economics, or gun ownership/deregulation.
I am not arguing here about the rightness or wrongness of any of these positions right now. And I am also not implying that all of these issues are morally equivalent.
Rather, I point out that both conservative and liberals possess views they consider stupid, illegitimate or even dangerous.
They just differ on which views are which.
We Often Pressure Others to Believe What We Believe
In addition, most people—conservative and liberal—try to silence other people who speak about topics deemed taboo. They may do this by censure, guilt, condescension, manipulation, or violence.
Both conservatives and liberals practice political correctness, but they just do it on different issues and in different ways.
President Trump is Politically Correct
That political correctness is not solely the problem of liberals is evident by the fact that President Trump may go down in history as one of the most politically correct presidents of all time. Certainly he says what is on his mind, offends sensibilities, and thumbs his nose at pretty much every establishment imaginable.
But, if political correctness is marked by controlling free speech, using language to silence and dominate, and distorting facts to fit our sensibilities, President Trump has not defeated political correctness. He has created a whole new breed of it.
Some Examples
President Trump regularly attacks speech in media, merely because it is critical of him and does not reflect his view of the matter. Throughout his campaign and even now, he silences or dominates other people’s attempts to speak.
He does this through insults and name-calling and by walking out of press conferences when they are not going his way.
President Trump also listens to news sources that accord with his own views and refers to opposing news sources as “fake news”. The President practices political correctness every day.
It is just his own brand of it.
If we are going to move past our contentious politics, we must do is get past the idea of political correctness and move towards compassion.
From Political Correctness to Compassion
One way to do this is to realize that everyone is politically correct (insofar as we all have preconceived notions of the world), and no one is politically correct (insofar as we hold beliefs that we sincerely think make us safe, good, and effective).
When we think that political correctness is the problem of one particular party, it causes us to “Other” people who hold political views different from ours. When we “Other” people, we turn them into strange, alien beings with whom we have nothing in common and who are inferior to us in some way.
For instance, if we think that political correctness is their problem and not our problem, we will likely think that we are logical, fair-minded, and good people. We will also believe those politically correct people are deluded, close-minded, and immoral.
Flattening and Distorting Complex People
When we do this, we turn people in other political parties to flat, clichéd stock characters in a B movie (and not the cool kind of B movie like Sharknado). We fail to see them as nuanced people who hold the beliefs they do for a variety of reasons, some good and some bad.
It is easy to treat clichés as sub-human, which we often do to one another in politics.
Yes.
I want to say more later, but for, just yes.