The insidious cloud lies dormant and mostly invisible amid our more urgent threats of nuclear attack and biological warfare. It permeates the homes of millions, an energy that chokes out the breath and threatens the tongue. Those who have fallen victim often remain oblivious to its effect.
As it garners strength, it creeps through schools, churches, universities and corporations and imbeds itself firmly into your life until suddenly, it sits staring at you at your own dinner table. How can we combat this enemy that is so powerful yet remains so elusive to detect, target and repel?
It seemed benign enough in the beginning. Perhaps it even appeared to bring about greater social harmony and universal understanding. As it mutated and took on its current form, most failed to see the danger that it posed to our American way of life. Political correctness now threatens our freedom of speech in a way that is difficult to challenge. After all, how can we argue with aggressive accusations that we are endorsing insensitivity, intolerance and discrimination by not speaking in the manner insisted by the elitist far left?
What we must understand is this: Those that purport the politically correct model utilize it in a manner that is self-serving rather than altruistic in nature. Thus, refusing to yield to compliance with this doctrine ultimately leads to unleashing the unbridled force that is the politically correct tsunami.
The far-left has adopted a clever weapon to combat overwhelming criticism of its latest agenda. It does not take much investigation into the current social situation to find fault with the current administration's policies and even less probing to pinpoint much of its source. Yet time and again, critics are silenced by the threat of being labeled any number of liberal buzzwords like homophobic, sexist, Islamophobic, unsophisticated and the big one, racist. Rather than debate issues of substance, liberals have sought to undermine the discourse between political parties by assigning the persona of conservatives as politically incorrect - which has come to mean primitive and devoid of compassion.
So what's the big deal? So what if the liberal talking heads have resorted to name-calling as a distraction to avoid accountability for their multitude of transgressions against core principles so many Americans hold near and dear? America's media and government, with a tremendous liberal influence, have indoctrinated a fear of politically incorrect commentary in America. The unchecked power these people possess directly imposes artificial boundaries on each citizen in his or her everyday life.
This issue reaches far beyond the simplicity of calling the blind "visually impaired" or a stewardess a "flight attendant." Instead, it encroaches on what it means to be American. Day after day, our soldiers fight to protect our right to free speech; all the while, the media and the government work covertly to destroy this liberty.
The sinister ploy of the loud, unbridled hysteria of the far-left utilizes the concept of political correctness to silence critics and stomp out resistance. Labels are waved and used to threaten the opposition in order to gain compliance. So, we must ask ourselves: Has political correctness led to a kinder, gentler America? In a nutshell: Absolutely not. If we have learned anything from political correctness, it is that giving a sector of our society the right and power to control the content and the use of our language only limits our constitutional rights and social liberties. The greater the potential for blocking implementation of proposed liberal policy (i.e. government-controlled banking system, automobile manufacturing, healthcare, etc.), the more aggressive liberal politicians become when casting their labels against the opposition.
Let's take a moment, collect our thoughts, and have a rational, intelligent discourse on the issues and its merits. I hope one side is tired of throwing the "politically correct" curveball. I know the other side is tired of ducking.