Political Correctness - May 2007

It was widely reported – but perhaps not widely read – that Great Britain was no longer going to include discussions of the Holocaust, The Crusades, or slavery in some of its grade levels because doing so could be considered offensive to some of its students who are relatively new residents of that country and who practice what some call a radical faith.

I am sure all of you, however, are familiar with radio and TV host Don Imus being fired for indefensible comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team after much pressure from Al Sharpton of Tawana Brawley fame and Jesse Jackson of Hymietown fame.

What is going on in the United States and around the world with all of this political correctness? More importantly what has happened to the America in which I grew up and to the Europe of which I read and yearned to visit?

The countries of this world, and the United States specifically, seem to be losing their individual identities to a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious mix of nationalities each of which believes their roots are more important than being part of a proud and unified country.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe that individuals should cherish their cultural roots, their ethnicity, and their religions. But I more strongly believe that each of us should first remember that we are part of the United States and that what keeps our country united is our common language and respect for others opinions even if we do not agree with them. Why do I sense that these priorities are changing?

You can now visit most cities of the United States and find areas in which English is not the primary means of communication. In all of these communities, government and social agencies have changed their ways of doing business to reach out to those who have chosen to not immerse themselves in the historic primary and public language of our country. This failure to prioritize learning English and the resulting disrespect towards those wanting a common language is causing much of the rift between illegal immigrants and citizens today.

Similarly, when I visited Western Europe several years ago, my wife and I immediately noticed the large influx of immigrants from North African nations who neither spoke the respective resident languages of French, English, or Italian in public places. Now I read that some of them don’t even want to follow the law of their new homelands as evidenced by a German judge recently allowing the use of Sharian Law concepts in his ruling.

Why does it seem that so many Americans now think the opposite of President Kennedy’s historic saying of “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Rather we are now supposed to feel guilty towards those that are being held back in society because our tax dollars are not providing them enough support.

Is this trend just the beginning of the Death Of The West about which a number of columnists have written and spoken in the past few years? These columnists say that all civilizations collapse from their own success or excesses eventually. Are we at that point in our country’s history? Will the growing political clout of those who favor diversity of language and law – and the politicians playing them for votes – cause our country to lose its identity and fade away? Only time will tell.