By Vernon A. Williams
How dare this nation easily, quickly and totally dismiss the allegation of a respected media professional that she was raped by the man who sits in the Oval Office when far less substantiated accusations have been given limitless exposure on the center stage of American media.
Where are the #metoo forces heard so loudly and forcefully over the past few years in this case? Likely hidden in the same corner they cowered in the light of the previous 15 or more similar conveyances of women relative to the same individual. Clearly in America, all rape and sexual assaults are NOT created equally.
This administration is clearly above the law. From his own lips, he could shoot someone in broad daylight in Times Square and not lose an iota of his devout following. So those who normally would speak with a sense of outrage are modifying their protest of indecencies emanating from that office or becoming muted altogether.
There is no more political correctness that requires those with a modicum of decency to band together in protest. Shock value is a thing of the past. Moral turpitude is gauged by the polls, dollar signs and political allegiance. There was a time when people of good will at least felt compelled to SAY the right thing, even if action or follow through was lacking.
In this troubling day and time, folks don’t even bother to weigh in on critical issues. There is no longer even the weakest efforts to lend forceful lip-service to injustice. So tragically with minimal opposition, children are separated from families and kept in cages, rogue cops murder unarmed Black Americans without repercussion, and women are raped.
There once was this thing called political correctness that required everyone in power and most in every day society to denounce atrocities.
Political correctness died a sudden and tragic death in the United States of America as well as, for the most part, around the world. Yet, PC was never even given the decency of an obituary, funeral service or proper burial – just tossed aside to rot away.
It sounds ugly. It is. But it is time to face reality. It is time to put things in perspective. It is time to stop and ponder the question of where do we go from here?
For those reasons, I feel compelled to at least try to construct some respectable eulogy for this element of society that kept us from wallowing in the mire of the worst in us all – that enduring instrument of constraint and virtue that sadly no longer exists.
Like anything worthwhile, political correctness was under constant attack through its lifetime. For millennials who possibly never even met PC, let’s digress for a moment and capture the essence of what PC was about.
Those less concerned with civility and more prone to factionalism will say good riddance. They dance on the grave of political correctness and welcome the opportunity for unbridled verbal, physical and psychological assault in word and deed if it promotes ideology or dogma of a given sect or demographic.
In other words, the absence of political correctness sanctions individuals to promote their own cause at any cost. Political correctness suggested that there should be boundaries that disallow the most ruthless, hurtful, selfish and destructive means to justify pursuit of any ends; that strength should be tempered by respect.
The concepts of civility and relentless pursuit of goals are not necessarily mutually exclusive. With moderation, the two can coexist. Uncompromising principles and values, absolutely. Commitment to fighting the good fight, undoubtedly. Unlimited resourcefulness applied to articulating and conveying a point, fine. But all these things without the desecration of everything in your path.
One of the most hurtful lies in the history of humanity is that “all is fair in love and war.” It is a blasphemous, undignified, inhumane supposition. Political correctness means that it is NOT okay to say or do anything to anybody at any time to advance any just cause. And it is equally repugnant to sit silently in the face of human suffering.
Critics of political correctness complained that it was an impediment to honesty, that trying to speak in the language of appease camouflaged unpleasant realities. Even in such cases, it offered leeway for differing perspectives. It was not perfect, but it facilitated dialogue. The lack of political correctness creates fear, intimidation and tribalism, forcing folk to retreat to harbors of theoretical familiarity for fear of reprisal.
So the question becomes, was it better to employ, to establish some societal safeguards in our diverse priorities – however imperfect the process – or to tear down walls of propriety and replace political correctness with ideological anarchy? Time will tell.
