The Origins of Political Correctness

[Xenia]

I hate PC! It is Cultural Marxism. The following is a very good article on this very important subject. I hope you will read the whole thing. I know it's long...
http://www.academia.org/lectures/lind1.html

[lynnmosher]

Thanks, Xenia. Will try to get to it later.

[tlm]

If you read George Orwell's 1984 (written in the 1940s) you will see the warning about PC way back then. Only in 1984 it was called goodspeak.

Since we have so many who are illiterate, the warning goes unheeded.

[kshsj777]

YIKES!!! I read most of this and was shocked!!!

I do wonder though... should we be politically correct at all? Some words are bad to use and will offend people... I guess it comes down to motive isn't it?

[Phy]

Then one would think we would be on guard against this in the body of Christ, but it is as prevalent within our ranks as anywhere. There is a difference between political correctness and simply being polite. As a group, this PC attitude can be (and often is) taken too far among the Body. Instead of operating out of genuine love, we run the very real risk of only operating under the pretense of love.

Case in point:
http://snipurl.com/pigs_to_puppies
Church school renames Three Little Pigs to avoid offending Muslims | Mail Online [www_dailymail_co_uk]

The story of the Three Little Pigs' battle with the Big Bad Wolf has delighted children since it was written more than 150 years ago.

But the tale highlighting the merits of hardwork and practicality has become the latest to fall victim to political correctness.

A junior school production of the children's story has been renamed the Three Little Puppies for fear of offending Muslims.

Organisers of a children's music festival have altered the popular characters and lyrics because of the multi-cultural nature of the youngsters involved and their parents in the audience.

But yesterday Islamic leaders condemned the politically correct move as misguided and said decisions like this were turning Muslims into 'misfits' in society.

[tlm]

One problem of PC in the media is that it gives us a skewed view of reality. As the article states, a minority is always innocent, no matter what the crime because the minority is seen as disadvantaged. Is that really okay?

I never watch CSI Miami because I know the white guy will always be the one to commit the crime, therefore there is never any suspense to that show. I watched one show where there were several people of different ethnic groups who were suspects and one white prison guard walked on the screen and said about two words and walked off screen. I turned to my son and said, he's going to be the killer (he was white and had a speaking part). I was right. The show was no fun because their PC agenda had taken all the suspense out of the show.

[Xenia]

You are right Toni. Very incidious. Oh... and I had forgotten about "goodspeak" until you mentioned it!

[ProfessorAlan]

The church (evangelical) has it's own form of PC, those positions and opinions you need to hold to be "in."

[Thebigguy]

Interesting, guys were fighting something too big for us individually, this is something I see that we need to go to God in prayer about. And I recommend the movie from Ben Stein called" Banned No Intelligence allowed." He talks about the Marxism in the Science community when it comes to Intelligent Design. I recommend it it comes across as true old school Journalism, an almost dead field due to political correctness on the news stations.
He comes across as very non bias and just follows the paper trail so to speak.

[Thebigguy]

I agree Prof. You don't often hear the Church want to talk about sex and the like, or when was the last time you went to a mens group and they asked how many in the room struggled with internet porn?

[tlm]

when was the last time you went to a mens group and they asked how many in the room struggled with internet porn?

They have actually mentioned that at our church rather frequently. Perhaps it is because we have had 2 relative young ministers since I have been there (4 years). Our present minister is barely 30 and the choir director is rather young, too.

I asked if they were accepting resume's from Jr. high these days. lol.

I do understand what you are saying about PC in the church. You find that many ministers find it easier to preach a gospel of everything is going to be okay is simply easier than hearing people complain about the sermons.

[Xenia]

The church (evangelical) has it's own form of PC, those positions and opinions you need to hold to be "in."

Yes they do and this is a great shame with eternal consequences. This is a problem (in my opinion) that is running rampant in the church now... The Truth is offensive sometimes but we are not to change the Truth because we don't want to offend someone! To do this is to quench the work of the Holy Spirit! To present 30 minutes of motivational "goodspeak" to a congregation as if it is the gospel is evil. It has the appearance of good, makes folks feel good, makes them think they are okay spiritually.... wrong! They are eating Turkish Delight from the hand of the White Witch (a poor analogy). We need to be lovingly and truthfully bold...

[ProfessorAlan]

Not exactly where I was going, but interesting.

I was thinking more the church-PC that you can be "out" if you watch the wrong TV shows or listen to the wrong music, or read the wrong books, or think the current war in Iraq was a bad idea, or don't think the USA is the center of God's work in the world, or don't hold to party-line interpretations of Genesis and/or Revelation, think we can learn a lot from our Catholic and Orthodox brethren, wish there was more of a place for the visual arts in our sanctuaries ... stuff like that.

[Xenia]

Not exactly where I was going, but interesting.

I was thinking more the church-PC that you can be "out" if you watch the wrong TV shows or listen to the wrong music, or read the wrong books, or think the current war in Iraq was a bad idea, or don't think the USA is the center of God's work in the world, or don't hold to party-line interpretations of Genesis and/or Revelation, think we can learn a lot from our Catholic and Orthodox brethren, wish there was more of a place for the visual arts in our sanctuaries ... stuff like that.

Ha! Funny how we can misunderstand one another isn't it :) I see what you are saying. I think each one of those issues would be great thread starters!

[Phy]

PC used to be more rampant around these boards with a kind of 'you must be like me if you're going to be a /true/ Christian' feel to things. But somewhere along the way, the leadership here has loosened the reins a little and in the midst of a number of site upgrades, seems to have become more tolerant of more direct writing and thinking.

Blatant flamebaiting is still slapped down as appropriate, but there is now more room for the length and breadth of Christian experience and thought, and I find it refreshing and encouraging.

People are wildly different, and what we're used to also differs very much across the landscape of Christendom. However, when there is room for God's people to calmly discuss divergent viewpoints while seeking the Lord, people learn in that process, and we as a whole grow closer to Jesus. Consensus in the Body is a beautiful thing, and rarely easy to come by. However, it is a constant fight worth waging, and there has been real growth in this direction here.

I firmly believe in supporting things that are working. There is so much in this life that is bent and broken - it is a delight to see something working, and things are working here at christianwriters.com.

[tlm]

I was thinking more the church-PC that you can be "out" if you watch the wrong TV shows or listen to the wrong music, or read the wrong books, or think the current war in Iraq was a bad idea, or don't think the USA is the center of God's work in the world, or don't hold to party-line interpretations of Genesis and/or Revelation, think we can learn a lot from our Catholic and Orthodox brethren, wish there was more of a place for the visual arts in our sanctuaries ... stuff like that.

I have been a member of those kinds of churches, too. To be honest, I am sure there are members of my own congregation who feel this way. It is such a large congregation, though, that I find a lot of people like me--more laid back.

I have heard it say that there will be 2 surprises when we get to Heaven:

1. The people who made it in the pearly gates that we thought wouldn't be there.
2. The people who didn't make it through the pearly gates that we were sure would be there.