The Visor

Political Correctness Inhibits Freedom of Expression

October 16, 2011

By Lindsay Huth

Hordes of college mail have inundated my mailbox over the last six months, all plastered with clearly posed pictures of immaculate green lawns, impossibly blue skies and unbelievably elated students – with a representative from every possible minority, of course. Universities would not want to irreparably offend their prospective students by publicizing a photo in a brochure of—gasp—two white students instead of properly representing the extensive Colombian population.
This concerted effort to ensure diversity and forestall cries of “racist” from the ultrasensitive, let’s-all-just-love-one-another crowd impacts more than just college pamphlets bound for the trashcan—I mean, recycling bin—anyway.
The pursuit of political correctness inhibits our daily speech as well. Anyone who has ever stumbled over identifying an individual in a crowd as “black” can sympathize. Though “Negro” and “colored” were once acceptable descriptive terms, the feel-good liberals of the 1970s eradicated them in favor of “Afro-American” and “black.” Before long, even those terms were deemed hateful and replaced by the modern,  offense-proof “African-American”—unless, of course, the sacred paragon of political correctness is merited—“people of color.”
Never mind that identifying a person in a crowd as “black” is doing nothing more than assisting a friend in locating someone in a crowd.
While this issue may seem petty, political correctness becomes critically damaging when it impacts Americans’ abilities to discuss vital national issues and express their opinions.
When addressing the danger of terrorism, caution must be taken to not refer to the act as “Muslim extremism” or “Islamic radicalism” or the perpetrators as “terrorists,” a name which might offend the fragile souls of the suicide bombers; inspirational terms such as “insurgents” and “freedom fighters” are preferable. These words, however, were still not tolerant enough for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which, when referring to the terrorists who killed 52 and injured 700 in a 2005 bombing of London buses, sympathetically identified them as “misguided criminals.”
Similarly, qualifying people as “illegal aliens” has been deemed offensive and transitioned to “illegal immigrants,” then to “undocumented immigrants” or “guest workers.”
Preoccupation with word choice and the avoidance of anything possibly offensive distorts the truth about crucial issues and inhibits true freedom to express opinions.
This, of course, was the goal when political correctness, named “cultural terrorism” by its inventor, communist George Lukacs, was developed.
The idea was adopted by the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany, which was founded in 1923 to investigate the obstacles inhibiting communism from spreading. The institution discovered that Western civilization’s espousal of individual rights was the culprit. To exterminate this harmful mindset, the organization planned to introduce into Western culture the idea that voicing personal opinions is offensive and harmful to society.
The concept was embraced by communist Chinese leader Mao in the 1930s under the title “sensitivity training” and arrived in America when the Institute transferred to New York City in 1935.
While political correctness’ modern-day purpose is certainly unrelated to furthering the communist agenda, its effects are still the same: political correctness limits freedom of speech by dictating which word choices, topics and opinions are socially acceptable and eliminating those which are not.
When people are cautious about expressing their views, particularly ones contrary to left-wing opinions, debate over critical issues is lessened and those with socially acceptable opinions are given complete control over the country. Political correctness is essentially a “thought police,” as named in George Orwell’s 1984, ensuring only certain opinions are permissible.
In order for a democratic society to function, all citizens must be free to voice their opinions, even if they seem offensive to others. People are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech, not the right to not be offended. Most importantly, all people must be able to plainly state the truth without diluting it with vague terms.
I am white. Others are black. Terrorists are horrible. Illegal aliens are criminals. And this is America, where I have the freedom to say what I want, regardless of who is offended.

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