The Real Threat of Political Correctness in America

Political correctness is something that we all have to live with and deal with in American society. We live in a diverse nation, and sometimes it is necessary to consistently dissipate stereotypes of our people so as to destroy the barriers between us and make everyone feel truly equal. However, political correctness has grown to such great extremes in America that it's starting to become not only a threat to national security, but ironically, a threat to equality itself.

The problems with political correctness begin with the very phrase itself - oftentimes, it is simply not correct. Society, for example, has taught us over and over that there is no such thing as 'black' people, but 'African-Americans,' since calling somebody 'black' can be interpreted as offensive. But, according to many 'African-Americans,' the politically correct name given to them is often simply wrong. There are plenty of dark-skinned people from all over the world living in America, and our society has effectively taught us that if we can't tell where they're from by looking at them, they're simply 'African-Americans,' which has, to many, become offensive in and of itself.

In addition, America has become so deeply obsessed with offending minorities that many American institutions have considered legitimate equality to no longer be enough. These days, employers are occasionally apt to hire somebody who comes from a less common background, simply to appear diversified in the workplace. Diversity is never a bad thing, obviously, but should this come at the expense of professionalism and efficiency? I heard of a personal example in which a relative of mine was having trouble finding work, yet got word of a company who was specifically looking to hire a Russian woman in order to enhance their workplace diversity. When she went to interview with them, they were so ecstatic that they barely even asked her any questions, and simply hired her based on her cultural background. So while a diversified workplace is important, these days some employers are so scared to appear racist that running an office full of diverse workers can come at the steep price of horrible inefficiency. Simply put, it would like common sense that if a person is not qualified for a job, they should not get it!

The same type of attitude comes into play when it comes to college decisions through the well-known phrase 'Affirmative Action,' a policy sure to elicit some serious groans from frustrated applicants. This problem is, by many, considered to be even worse than the workplace problem in that many colleges and universities practice blatant reverse discrimination against more 'common' backgrounds. Any well-researched college student knows that if they are applying to a prestigious school and they are considered by the university to be merely the typical white male, they stand a much smaller chance of acceptance than would a less common ethnicity, regardless of their academic prowess.

However, despite that the extremes of political correctness both offend and lessen equality, the line must immediately be drawn when it threatens our national security. The most specific incident that comes to mind is the recent shooting at Fort Hood, in which a U.S. Army Major of Muslim descent, Nidal Malik Hasan, shot and killed 13 people, while wounding 30 others. Some have considered it to be merely a tragic case of a soldier turning against his country, but the fact is that the incident could have easily been avoided. It was widely known throughout the base that the soldier in question very prominently voiced pro-terrorist sentiments and sympathized with extremist Islam. His anti-American statements did not fall on deaf ears - merely fearful ones. The soldiers who heard Hasan's anti-American statements were merely too frightened of getting accused of being intolerant of their Muslim comrade, and would have stood the potential of being fired for it had they said he was sympathizing with terrorists. This kind of blatant disregard for the security of the American people is sickening. Of course, free speech is an important right that all Americans are entitled to, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. In this day and age, there is no room for the support of terrorism on our own soil, and the price to pay, as shown by this incident, has been dear indeed.

I don't consider myself somebody who's against political correctness in theory. But the practice of it in today's American society simply assumes that everybody is a blatant racist who needs to be put in their place if they so much as hint at racial intolerance. In my opinion, our society has grown a lot in its tolerance of its own diversity. Obviously there are isolated incidents of extreme racism and some of rude intolerance, but that's why politically correct societal standards should remain existent, but toned down drastically. There will always be racism of one form or another, and it should be dealt with. But a balance needs to be struck. Because when something like political correctness is enforced to the point where it hurts our nation, something needs to be done.