www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall What is the root of the political correctness?

What is the root of the political correctness? Why America knows this abnormal matter?

In a thread I did read with wonder that:
What is happening? Were you ever forced to say or do some that it is considered politically correct?

The politicians from the USA are aware that their country begins to become a veritable new Babylon? What do they?

Can anyone share the causes, even if is American?

Thank you.

m+

I don't think political correctness is an American phenomenon. I noticed it in Western Europe before I witnessed it here. It seems to me, however, that academic institutions have been a huge force behind its spread.

But why does this phenomenon exist? What is the root?

It is a mentality which was born of noble cause and compassion for those who were being exploited and unfairly treated in society, and has now basically run amock--in other words, it has become ridiculously extreme in its original intent to not offend, degrade or belittle any person, any nationality, any religion, any gender, any, any, etc...

Exactly. I have heard political correctness described as good intentions carried to a laughable extreme.

Thank you all for the answers.

Why became extreme?

Is God anymore our Father? Or is incorrect?

Good intentions without any God? Flee from Christ?

I think that the most Americans are good people. Bad are the media and not only.

Political correctness is an invention of apostates from Western Christianity going back at least to the 'Enlightenment' in the 1700s. Think of nominal Anglican (by birth and social class) Thomas Jefferson and his edit of the Bible (keep the ethics, drop the miracles). It's Christian ethics (charity, fairness, the golden rule) divorced from Christian theology. And its results can be disastrous or just plain silly.

The term comes from one form of this idealism, Communism, I think specifically Maoism, by way of a book about 40 years ago by Tom Wolfe using it to make fun of the ideological conformity of the rich and hip at the time.

Neo-paganism as in New Age is another invention of apostate Christians that keeps the ethics ('harm no-one') but dumps/changes the theology (I make the rules, 'I'm spiritual not religious'). Unsurprisingly it's often PC.

Hello,

Many informations that I never knew. I should research on this matter.

m+

Good ethics and kindness have always been a vital part of the American reality. Having lived in another country and immersed by my ethnic background into their ethos, a country where church and state (until very, very recently) were intertwined, I can say with all honesty that, as individuals of all socio-economic levels, races and creeds, there are no people on earth that are more genuinely fair, charitable, giving, ethical and compassionate than Americans...

If that reality is fast becoming a memory, I do not know, but that is a possibility..

(We also seem to have more demonic and evil individuals among us lately than any other country....)

For instance, the lesson every school child learned about the value of ethical honesty in the story about George Washington being asked by his father if he cut down the cherry tree, and his answer of "I cannot tell a lie, I did" is no longer part of our children's psyche and curriculum, so who knows---perhaps this tale, simple but profound, has also become 'politically incorrect' in a good intention gone ridiculously bad....

Yes, our media in all its venues (movies, television, news, music, etc.) is bad...and unfortunately, its influence is great.

So, our demise as a society of decent individuals is surely to follow.

Joe Sobran wrote something similar. [sobran.com]

I first encountered the term in the late 80's, when it was still used by its proponents.

A friend's foreign coworker had come back from a hard-left movie, and stated with approval that it was "politically correct."

The term was used by its proponents to attempt to modify and approve political behavior (yest, there are heavy soviet overtones here). Properly progressive attitudes & acts were "politically correct." The term quickly became one of derision, and one of dismissal rather than approval.

hawk

Dear Marian,

If you want my opinion, the roots of "political correctness" are in Marxism-Leninism. I graduated from a State university (Rutgers) in 1973. My degree is in political science. Most of my professors in that field were either Marxists or friendly toward Marxism. Some could be labelled as "Social Democrats" (akin to the Mensheviks in pre-Bolshevik Russia), who, in today's America, would be labelled "Liberal", while others were more disciplined, i.e., Leninists of different types (i.e., Trotskyites, some pro-Soviet instructors, some "New Left" Revolutionaries, etc.). With some of these professors, if you displayed any disagreement toward their views, your grade in the course would suffer. Others were not as intolerant. It is ironic that, as a Christian conservative, the professor who gave me the least trouble was a Trotskyite history instructor. At that time (and I'm sure it has not changed), most professors who were conservative and/or friendly to Christianity were those teaching in areas other than politics or history. We had Ukrainian-born and Russian-born professors who were good men, but they taught in the area of languages and Natural Sciences. From what I have read elsewhere, this is typical of secular colleges in the United States (not to mention some allegedly "Catholic" institutions). American "political correctness" has its origins in the Academic World. To quote an Italian saying:"the fish rots from the head down".

In Christ,
Deacon Robert

Thank you, Father Deacon Robert.

When I look to the West and to the USA, I have an odd feeling. They behave as if they want to get rid of Christ and God.

Perhaps the political correctness became extreme because of the media?

Many questions, if God will be merciful to me, after a time, I will study more about.

May Christ take our hands and lead us to the Heavenly Emaus. Amin.

m+

What you're probably noticing is a combination of the establishment clause of the US Constitution "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," which prohibits a state religion; the Separation Clause "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," which prohibits putting one religion (such as Christianity) in a better position than the next; and political correctness which results in lawsuits for various things such as prayer in school, the words "under god" in the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.

Keep in mind that the Pilgrims (early settlers in what is now Massachusetts) fled England due to having separated from the Church of England. They were followed by others who did not favor C of E, who wanted to live in a state without an official religion. Without the above clauses, it isn't likely there would be much of a Catholic/Orthodox presence in this country. And yes, I realize Freedom of Religion didn't apply to slaves; the Establishment and Separation Clauses related to government actions, not actions of private persons, such as the slaveholders who repressed indigenous religion, which resulted in syncretic religions such as Voudoun and Santeria.