Roberta Schaefer: The history of political correctness and why its gone way too far – Worcester Telegram

Has political correctness gone too far?

Absolutely! But to prove the case, it is helpful to recall the origin of the term political correctness, and how the phenomenon it describes has come to be a dominant feature of contemporary political and academic life.

The term first appeared in the Marxist-Leninist vocabulary following the Russian Revolution (really, a coup) of 1917 to describe strict adherence to policies and principles of the Soviet Unions Communist Party. Political correctness was invented by the communists to camouflage the truth about events and policies in the Soviet Union that had resulted in mass murders, the starvation of millions, and slave labor camps. It was politically incorrect to reveal such facts; the party line was for all loyal communist party members to promote the same politically correct truths about the good life under totalitarian government. (In addition, it entailed strict adherence to the Soviet Unions current foreign policy: American Communists firmly opposed military preparedness against Nazi Germany during the operation of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, then a swift turnabout to being pro-war once the Germans invaded Russia.)

How could a practice so contrary to American principles of freedom of speech and the press come to be widely tolerated in American society, especially in the academy, several decades later? The early 1990s witnessed the rise in college campuses of politicized curricula and teaching methods, typically on behalf of causes advocated by the political Left especially in issues relating to race, class, and gender. Students were increasingly taught that the United States is an inherently racist society; that, contrary to the claims made in the Declaration of Independence, our political regime was designed to serve the interests of a rich minority at the expense of other citizens and that Western society as a whole was intrinsically patriarchal, benefiting male oppressors at the expense of their female victims.

More importantly, an increasing number of college faculty made clear to their students that any expression of dissent from these views would cause the students grades to suffer. (Early works documenting these developments were Dinesh DSouzas Illiberal Education and Roger Kimballs Tenured Radicals). Even when professors claims went directly contrary to known facts (such as that the greatest known emancipation of slaves in world history occurred in the U.S. during the Founding era, that Americas free economy has offered historically unparalleled opportunities for hundreds of millions of immigrants and their descendants as well as, over the past century, African-Americans - to rise in economic and social status, along with political influence, and that women in the Western world enjoy far greater freedoms than their sisters in less-developed societies, it was made clear that the open statement of these facts was unwelcome, lest it interfere with the advancement of favored liberationist causes.

Nowadays, the reign of political correctness (PC) extends well beyond the academy, into the domain of ordinary language in the name of not giving offense to selected groups. Hence, a blind person should be called visually impaired (or, better, differently abled); homeless people are temporarily displaced; illegal aliens should be called undocumented immigrants; one shouldnt ask a stranger where hes from because thats a microaggression implying that he doesnt belong here. Meanwhile, back in the ivory tower, professors are directed to add trigger warnings to their syllabi, warning students that course readings might include materials (like Huckleberry Finn) that might distress them; and law schools may avoid teaching courses dealing with rape, for the same reason. The number of offenses continues to grow, feeding on the successes of PC censors. The woke person keeps up with the list of offenses and adds to them, hoping that by altering language, one can change beliefs and overcome all inconvenient facts.

But political correctness now entails much more than transforming the meaning of words. It means prohibiting the appropriation of anothers culture. The University of Ottawa banned yoga sessions on the ground that the activity is a Western appropriation of Indian-Hindu culture, and therefore, a reminder of colonial oppression. A white man dressing as a Native American to celebrate Thanksgiving as planned at the Goddard School was banned for the same reason. Should La Japonaise, a famous painting by 19th-century French Impressionist Auguste Renoir of his blonde-haired wife wearing a magnificent red Japanese kimono be removed from Bostons Museum of Fine Arts? At this rate, how will people from varying cultures ever be able to communicate and learn from each other?

Political correctness has also become synonymous with an unwillingness to engage in discussion with those who are judged to hold un-PC views. This past December Holy Cross minority students occupied half the seats in an auditorium in which best-selling journalist Heather MacDonald was giving a lecture based on her recent book The Diversity Delusion, and then staged a walkout ten minutes into the talk, just after she had remarked how fortunate all students at such a well-endowed institution were to spend four years with access to vast library facilities and courses taught by professors who earnestly wanted to help them succeed. Instead of staying to listen, the protestors marched out chanting slogans, while campus police, doubtless acting at the direction of higher-ups in the College administration, prevented the 80 or 90 students whod been kept out from occupying the vacated seats.

Such intolerance for the expression of dissenting views directly belies the claim of the PC crowd to be standing up for tolerance and diversity. By their account, the only speakers who should be tolerated are those who agree with him. Diversity may apply to the color of peoples skin, but certainly not to the expression of alternative points of view which colleges were once expected to encourage.

PC carried to its extreme has the capacity to destroy Western culture entirely. At a recent Paul Gauguin exhibition at Londons National Gallery, patrons are informed that the French painter had sexual relations with young girls during his stay in Polynesia, taking advantage of his privileged Westerner position. An audio guide asks, Is it time to stop looking at Gauguin altogether? In other words, appreciation of the arts must be viewed through the PC lens of racism, sexism, gender bias, or hurt feelings. No longer can they be seen, read, or heard for their beauty or craftsmanship, or to enhance our understanding of the human condition. Everything is political.

By any consistent standard of political correctness, Shakespeare is certainly un-PC. To cursory readers and audiences, Taming of the Shrew promotes misogyny; Othello contains racist remarks; The Merchant of Venice contains an anti-Semitic strain. (Only a close study of the plays, of the sort most contemporary English professors avoid, would overcome these impressions.) Even Kate Smiths classic rendition of God Bless America was dropped from the Yankee Stadium soundtrack because she sang what is now regarded as a racist tune at the age of 24 at the behest of her record company; while the words to the comic standard Baby, Its Cold Outside! have been altered because the original lyrics could imply an ensuing pressured sexual encounter. (Meanwhile, rap singers who celebrate sexual subjugation of women and use words like ho and the otherwise dreaded N-word get a free pass.)

If the PC purity test continues to rule, then its time to close the libraries, the museums, the concert halls (Richard Wagner composed great operas but is also deservedly notorious for his anti-Semitic tract Jewishness in Music), and especially the universities. The only way out of the PC dilemma is to push back against the tide. And there is some evidence that its possible. According to a 2018 nationally-representative poll of 8,000 conducted by the group More In Common, 80 percent believe political correctness is a problem in the US. This includes 74 percent of those aged 24-29, 79 percent of those under 24, and 75 percent of African-Americans. The only polled group that expressed strong support for political correctness were those characterized as progressive activists a group characterized by high incomes and high levels of education (what did they actually learn?) and are mostly white. But these are the people best positioned to impose their attitudes on the public through their domination of the media and education (starting in elementary school).

Yes, political correctness has gone too far. Woke me when moderation, toleration, and common sense return.

Roberta Schaefer is the founder and former president of Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

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Roberta Schaefer: The history of political correctness and why its gone way too far - Worcester Telegram