High Cost of Being Politically Correct

In today's society, we are paying a high price for being politically correct. Everyday we live in a world where racial prejudice, sexual discrimination, and all kinds of real, difficult issues exist. The sad thing is, we handicap ourselves from truly resolving such deep-seated issues due to the fact that we keep these things tuck away behind closed doors. We may hear more about these things than say in the 1950s, but we when do discuss these volatile issues, especially in the press, we fail to ensure that the perpetrator gets the help he or she so desperately needs. We fail to address generational racism and sexism, and as a result, these things get shoved behind closed doors until it is too late. It is then, and only then, we rightly get behind the victim.

The problem is, as a result of our flawed method of trying to cope with these very serious issues, we have created a culture of victims and entitlement. By not addressing the underlying issues and increasing the pressure for people to be completely politically correct, we are in a no-win situation. The more politically correct we become, the more the less desirable behavior in our society occurs behind closed doors and the harder it become to deal with in an effective manner. Unfortunately, the solution won't please everyone.

Then what exactly is the solution? For me, there is no perfect solution; there are only steps we can take to fully realize the same Creator created us all. We are in this great experiment together and we need to move on from past injustices, no matter what they were. For example, the African American community has spent decades simply trying to get even for past injustices. Today, it seems that some African American leaders, such as Bill Cosby, are realizing that this is counter-productive. I believe that this is positive step forward for everyone. Unfortunately, the original perpetrators - the people who forced Native Americans to give up there land and move to reservations, the slave owners, and the generation of men who purposely kept women out of the work place - are long gone.

Anyway you look at it, any compensation for past ills, or any attempt at "evening the playing fields" (affirmative action, for example) is simply counterproductive. It simply creates a new generation of victims. There are many people denied a chance to go to the college of his or her dreams, even though they are well qualified, simply due to the fact that they don't have the requisite race or religion. In an attempt to right a very serious wrong, we have committed yet another.

There is only one thing that needs to be done, and that is to live up to the ideals set forth for us in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. If we start to try to live up to those ideals now (and we have an incredibly long way to go), maybe we'll have fewer victims in the future, and there will be no need to be politically correct. We will all be Americans.