a flawed device of the contemporary era According to the Merriam-W ebster Dictionary ​ a1 ​ [602914]

Silviu Loren
ț

Class XII C

Political Correctness

a flawed device of the contemporary era

According
to
the
Merriam-W ebster
Dictionary
​
a1
​
,
​
political
correctness
​
represents
the
belief

that language and practices w hich could offend political sensibilities should be eliminated.

History

The
first
documented
usage
of
the
term
“politically
correct”
occurred
in
the
18th
century,
in

the
United
States
Supreme
Court
case
​
Chisholm
v.
Georgia
​
,
2
U.S.
419.
In
this
case,
Associate

Justice
James
Wilson
comme nted:
"The
states,
rather
than
the
People,
for
whose
sakes
the
States

exist,
are
frequently
the
objects
which
attract
and
arrest
our
principal
attention…
Sentiments
and

expressions
of
this
inaccurat e
kind
prevail
in
our
commo n,
even
in
our
convivial,
language.
Is
a
toast

asked?
'The
United
States',
instead
of
the
'People
of
the
United
States',
is
the
toast
given.
​
This
is

not
politically
correct
​
."
​
a2
​
Albeit
not
in
wide
usage
there,
the
term
had
spread
over
the
ocean
as

well.
​
a3, a4

Richard
Bernstein’s
“The
Rising
Hegemony
of
the
Politically
Correct”
article,
published
in

The
New
York
Times
on
the
28th
of
October,
1990,
states
that
this
term,
at
the
time,
was
mostly

used
within
academia:
"Across
the
country
the
term
p.c.,
as
it
is
commonly
abbreviated,
is
being

heard
more
and
more
in
debates
over
what
should
be
taught
at
the
universities."
​
a5
​
In
May
1991,

George
H.
W.
Bush,
then
President
of
the
United
States,
used
this
term
in
his
speech
at
a

commencement
ceremony
for
a
graduating
class
of
the
University
of
Michigan:
“The
notion
of

political
correctness
has
ignited
controversy
across
the
land.
​
And
although
the
movement
arises

from
the
laudable
desire
to
sweep
away
the
debris
of
racism
and
sexism
and
hatred,
it

replaces
old
prejudice
with
new
ones.
It
declares
certain
topics
off-limits,
certain
expression

off-limits, even certain ges tures off-limits.
​
”
​
a6

Modern-day usage

In
the
media,
the
usage
of
the
term
depends
from
country
to
country.
In
the
United
States,

the
term
is
used
widely
within
intellectual
media;
however,
in
the
United
Kingdom,
usage
has
been

mainly
confined
to
the
popul ar
press.
​
b1
​
In
the
essay
“Political
Correctness
Has
No
Place
In
The

Newsroom”,
Robert
Novak
blamed
newspapers
for
adopting
language
use
policies
that
he
thinks

tend
to
excessively
avoid
the
appearance
of
bias.
​
He
argued
that
political
correctness
in

language
not
only
destro ys
meaning
but
also
demeans
the
people
who
are
meant
to
be

protected.
​
b2

– education –

Right -wing political correctness

The
phenomenon
is
not
exclusive
to
the
left-wing
side,
as
many
would
claim.
Right-wing

political
correctness
exists
and
thrives
uncomme nted
upon;
in
a
2015
Harris
poll
it
was
found
that

U.S.
conservatives
are
almo st
twice
as
likely
(42
percent
vs.
23
percent)
as
Democrats
to
say
that

“
​
there are any books that shou ld be banned completely
​
”.
​
c1

Alex
Nowrasteh
of
the
Cato
Institute
defined
the
right's
own
version
of
political
correctness

as
“patriotic
correctness”:
“
​
For
example,
in
the
aftermath
of
9/11
and
the
run-up
to
the
Iraq
War,

David
Frum
labeled
dissente rs
as
anti-Ame rican.
Jonah
Goldberg
wrote
that
opponents
of
the
war

“can
only
get
passionate
about
the
perfidy
of
our
own
president.”
Conservative
gadfly
Robert
“Buzz”

Patterson
went
further,
calling
much
of
the
Democratic
Party,
Hollywood,
big
media,
college

campuses
and
many
other
organizations
“traitors.”
The
French
government’s
opposition
to
the

invasion
of
Iraq
prompted
Congress
to
rename
French
fries
as
“freedom
fries”
in
congressional

cafeterias,
a
21st-century
liberty
cabbage.
When
the
Dixie
Chicks
opposed
the
Iraq
War,
many

stations
pulled
the
group’s
music
from
the
air
so
as
not
to
“trigger”
listeners.
Fans
destroyed
Dixie

Chicks albums in grotesque p ublic demonstrations. The radio became a safe space.
​
”
​
c2

In
1995,
one
author
used
the
term
"conservative
correctness"
arguing,
in
relation
to
​
higher

education
​
,
that
"critics
of
political
correctness
show
a
curious
blindness
when
it
comes
to
examples
of

conservative
correctness.
Most
often,
the
case
is
entirely
ignored
or
censorship
of
the
Left
is
justified
as

a
positive
virtue.
[…]
A
balanced
perspective
was
lost,
and
everyone
missed
the
fact
that
people
on
all

sides were sometimes censored."
​
c3

Why not?

One
flaw
of
political
correctness
is
that
the
terms
it
substitutes
allegedly
offensive
words
with

may
obtain
in
time
a
negativ e
connotation
themselves.
In
linguistics,
this
phenomenon
is
called
the

euphemism
treadmill
​
d1
​
.
Let’s
take
as
an
example
the
multitude
of
words
previously
used
to
describe

people
with
a
mental
disabi lity:
“idiot”,
“imbecile”,
“moron”
and
“cretin”.
The
first
three
referred
to

people
with
IQ's
in
the
range
of
0-20,
20-49,
50-69
respectively,
while
"cretin"
was
a
medical
term
​
d2

referring
to
stunted
physical
and/or
mental
growth
caused
by
either
a
deficiency
of
thyroid
hormones

or
a
prolonged
deficiency
of
iodine.
All
of
these
terms
were
used
for
people
with
various
kinds
of

mental
impairment.
Eventual ly,
they
became
used
more
widely
as
pejoratives—hence
they
were

replaced
in
a
medical
context
during
the
twentieth
century
with
phrases
such
as
"mentally
retarded"

and
"spastic".
Again,
these
came
to
be
used
out
of
context
as
offensive
insults,
to
the
point
where

they
were
considered
decid edly
politically
incorrect,
and
were
replaced
by
newer
phrases
such
as

"mentally
challenged"
and
"special
needs",
some
of
which
have
also
come
to
be
used
offensively.

Meanwhile,
the
original
terms
such
as
"idiot"
and
"moron"
have
entirely
lost
their
clinical

connotations,
and
are
used
freely
to
describe
people
whose
behavior
or
opinions
we
find
to
be

"stupid" without actually implyi ng that they are disabled.

The
story
of
this
treadmill
is
an
excellent
example
of
how
"political
correctness"
often
makes

terms
​
more
and
more
ambi guous
under
a
series
of
catch-alls
​
:
the
specific
"idiot",
"imbecile",

"moron",
and
"cretin"
are
blanketed
with
the
term
"retarded".
That
word
is
then
blanketed
by
the

quite
ambiguous
"special
needs"
​
d3
​
,
covering
such
a
wide
range
as
Asperger's
syndrome
and

blindness.

More
often
than
not,
political
correctness
is
something
with
no
real
benefit.
It
is
difficult
to
be

politically
correct,
which
requires
a
person
to
speak,
act,
think
in
such
a
way
as
to
not
insult
any

person
who
is
different
(racew ise,
genderwise,
agewise
asf.)
Mannerly
conduct
properly
guides
us

in
the
direction
of
being
sensitive
and
not
saying
or
otherwise
thinking
discriminatory
ideas;

however,
political
correctnes s
simply
changes
the
English
language
to
be
more
complicated
–
other

examples
would
be
postman
->
postal
worker,
freshmen
->
first-year
students,
fat
->
person
of
size,

as
seen
for
example
in
the
​
Bias-Free
Language
Guide
​
d4
published
on
the
campus
of
the
University

of New Hampshire.

Adding
to
that,
the
costs
brought
upon
society
by
political
correctness
are
immense.
Many

have
disputed
​
,
d5,
d6,
d7
the
reporting
of
people
based
on
prima
facia
notation
of
skin
colour.
As
such,

in
some
places
police
recor ds
would
mention
a
person’s
height,
weight,
clothes
and
much
more,

while
at
the
same
time
avoid ing
any
mentions
of
race,
a
factor
which
can
be
the
key
to
identifying

suspects
in
many
cases.
Is
skin
colour
not
one
of
the
first
physical
details
noticed
by
one
when

glancing
at
another
person?
As
time
passed
and
the
measure
was
proven
to
be
ineffective,
some

have
brought
back
the
notat ion
of
skin
colour
–
however,
the
damage
was
already
done
and
political

correctness led to a decreas e in effectiveness of proper crime enforcement.

Conclusion

Many
people
will
not
take
responsibility
for
the
words
that
come
out
of
their
mouths,
bringing

misogyny
and
racism
into
their
casual
conversations
without
any
bother
for
the
feelings
of
others.

The
same
people
will
no
doub t
say
that
the
problem
is
not
with
them,
but
with
​
the
others
​
–
the
ones

who are PC, politically correct .

Political
correctness
has
become
the
mislabeling
of
virtue
with
an
insult
phrase
by
people

who
have
no
care
for
moral ity.
Truth
is,
if
we
are
to
be
interested
in
virtue,
we
must
accept
the

reality
that
discussions
abou t
its
limits
will
be
held.
Even
so,
the
disadvantages
of
being
PC
by
far

outweigh the benefits – the o nly result is useless bickering over others’ phrasing.

Close your eyes and think: if you conform to such norms, why do you do it?

Bibliogr aphy

a.
Definition & History

1.
“Politically Correct | Definition of Politically Correct.”
​
Merriam-Webster
​
, 20th Dec. 2016,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politically%20correct

2.
“Chisholm v. Georgia (full text) :: 2 U.S. 419 (1793).”
​
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center,
​
20th Dec.

2016, https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/2/419/case.html

3.
(London) Courier
​
, 18th Aug. 1804, p. 2., “In your paper on Monday […] you offered some observations

to your readers which were evidently well-meant though they were not
​
politically correct
​
” via

newspaperarchive.com/uk/middlesex/london/courier/1804/08-18/page-2?tag=politically+correct&rtserp=t
ags/?pep=politically-correct&psb=dateasc, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

4.
Australian Mail and New Zealand Express
​
, 15th Jun. 1861, “For to call it "a new colony" is only

politically correct
​
– the stress should be laid on the word "colony"” via

newspaperarchive.com/uk/middlesex/london/australian-mail-and-new-zealand-express/1861/06-15/,

retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

5.
“
​
The Rising Hegemony of the Politically Correct
​
”, New York Times
​
, 28th Oct. 1990 via

www.nytimes.com/1990/10/28/weekinreview/ideas-trends-the-rising-hegemony-of-the-politically-correct.
html?pagewanted=all, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

6.
“Remarks at the University of Michigan Commencement Ceremony in Ann Arbor”,
​
George Bush

Presidential Library,
​
4th May 1991 via www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws /?pid=19546, retrieved 20th Dec.

2016

b.
Modern day usage

1.
“Political Correctness and Higher Education: British and American Perspectives.”, Lea, John, 2010,

Routledge. ISBN 1135895880, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

2.
“Political Correctness Has No Place In The Newsroom”,
​
U.S.A. Today,
​
Nov. 1994 via

imprimis.hillsdale.edu/political-correctness-in-the-newsroom/, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

c.
Right-wing political correctness

1.
"Conservative Correctness" chapter, “The Myth of Political Correctness: The Conservative Attack on

Higher Education”, Wilson, John, 1995, Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 57

2.
“The game of the name”,
​
The Baltimore Sun
​
, Apr. 1994

viaarticles.baltimoresun.com/1994-04-06/news/1994096202_1_dutch-words-language, retrieved 20th

Dec. 2016

3.
“Cretinism | Definition of Cretinism.”
​
Merriam-Webster
​
, 20th Dec. 2016,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cretinism

d.
Why not?

1.
“Stop saying only Democrats are politically correct. Republicans also favor censorship.”,
​
Washington

Post
​
, 10th Aug. 2015 via

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-politics-of-stifling-speech/2015/08/10/724d2a62-3f9c-11e5-9561-
4b3dc93e3b9a_story.html, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

2.
“The right has its own version of political correctness. It’s just as stifling.”,
​
Washington Post
​
, 7th Dec.

2016,

www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/07/the-right-has-its-own-version-of-political-correc
tness-its-just-as-stifling, retrieved 20th Dec. 2016

3.
“Special Needs | Definition of Special Needs.”
​
Merriam-Webster
​
, 29th Jan. 2017, via

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/special%20needs

4.
“Bias-Free Language Guide”
​
Sylvia Foster, Joelle Ruby Ryan, Sean Moundas, Women’s Commission
​
,

accessed 29th Jan. 2017 via

https://www.girardatlarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Bias-Free-Language-Guide-Inclusive-Excelle
nce-073015.pdf

5.
“Swedish police banned from describing criminals anymore in case they sound racist”,
​
The

Independent
​
, accessed on the 29th Jan. 2017 via

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-police-are-not-allowed-to-give-descriptions-of
-alleged-criminals-so-as-not-to-sound-racist-a6810311.html

6.
“Brown University Cops Won’t Report Race Of Wanted Suspects”,
​
The Daily Caller
​
, accessed on the

29th of Jan. 2017 via

http://dailycaller.com/2016/09/08/brown-university-cops-wont-report-race-of-wanted-suspects/

7.
“Media Refuse to Report Suspect’s Race After Good Samaritan Is Shot”,
​
Breitbart,
​
accessed on the

29th of Jan. 2017 via

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/11/22/media-refuse-report-suspects-race-good-samaritan-
shot/