Has Political Correctness Blocked us From Having Real Discussions?

Photo by Kristina Flour

According to the Cato Institute, a majority of Americans believe political correctness is preventing us from having discussions we need to have, and a majority of Americans also don't feel comfortable sharing some of their political views. Out of those polled, it seems conservatives are more likely to feel they need to self censor. 

Why is that? I think, personally, that a lot of it at this time in history stems back to a lack in understanding of what free speech is. The poll aside, I have found it rather interesting in my own observations of people that we are greatly unwilling to hear people out, and one slight "infraction" will cause a lot of people to walk away. 

As some of you know, I run a YouTube channel, and my experience there has been very educational. This blog has been, as well, mostly in the original form. This blog has existed for years now, although this is the moved and improved version. I had people who read my blog daily, interacted on every post, etc., and then one post showed up that they didn't agree with and they vanished forever. 

YouTube has been a little more telling. Subscriber counts are right in your face all the time, and every single time I post a video, I can count on losing a bunch of subscribers and gaining a bunch more. Some people have even left me notes about why they decided to completely ignore me for the rest of my life because of one sentence. Not a video... a sentence. It was usually one they took out of context, but it didn't matter. 

We see articles online daily about people who refuse to be friends with people because they voted for whoever ran against their chosen candidate. Videos of people talking and someone literally just bouncing around them and screaming to drown them out. People giving an argument for a belief and the opposing person gives "you're a f------ white male!" as a comeback, as if that is a conversation ender. 

Now, to break down some of the things from the article itself. Let's have these discussions!

---

​51% of staunch liberals say it’s “morally acceptable” to punch Nazis.

Define a Nazi. Right now, in this country, we have forgotten the age old adage that "the first person to bring up Nazis loses the argument." Everyone you disagree with is a Nazi. Therefore, groups like Antifa punch anyone who disagrees with them. All of that nonsense aside.  It isn't morally acceptable to assault others at random. If you find an actual Nazi who is beating or trying to kill someone, by all means, punch that person. But because they are talking? No. Words are not violence. Violence is violence. And you have my blessing to punch anyone who is physically endangering your physical health or life. 

​53% of Republicans favor stripping U.S. citizenship from people who burn the American flag.

I'm sorry, what? Look, I'm as big a flag waving patriot as anyone else, and I cheer when someone saves a flag from being burned. But stripping citizenship from anyone who burns the flag? Are you serious? I've defended flag burning plenty in my life. It is a form of free speech and free expression. It's a crappy act and I think the people who do it are fools who don't understand what that flag means or stands for because they've never once lifted a history book. But don't forget the men and women who have been brought home in a casket covered by that flag fought for your freedom and our Constitution. While you don't like it, and neither do I, it is protected under the Constitution.

​51% of Democrats support a law that requires Americans use transgender people’s preferred gender pronouns.

I'm willing to use your pronouns if you aren't a complete jerk about it. I'm willing to use your pronouns as long as you don't assume I should have come into the conversation already knowing them. And you must assume a conversation with me is going to be very short if you have weird pronouns. If you use "they, them" as your pronouns, you need to grasp that it is going to stab me in the soul that you are referring to yourself in a plural form and I'm not going to be able to deal with that for very long. But I don't have an issue with using your pronouns. I know a lot of people do. If you are having a conversation with someone who refuses to use them, stop conversing with them. No, the government doesn't need to get involved. People should not be charged with a crime for refusing to use your pronouns. Everyone is suddenly "non-binary" because it's the trendy thing to do. No one should be jailed because they didn't give in to your desire for attention and to be part of the "it" crowd. 

​65% of Republicans say NFL players should be fired if they refuse to stand for the anthem.

I have covered this as well, and it was one of the most interesting videos to read responses to. This was the video that someone walked away from my channel because of a sentence in. They have the right to kneel. You have the right to stop throwing money at them. The NFL doesn't have to fire them if they are willing to take the consequences of people not attending games or watching on TV. People have acted accordingly and still they continue. They don't have to stop just because you don't like it. But you don't have to give them your hard earned money, either. 

​58% of Democrats say employers should punish employees for offensive Facebook posts.

No. Employers have the right to punish employees for Facebook posts that go against the beliefs of the company or damage the image of the company. We can't say "offensive" in this case, because offense is relative. What offends you may not offend anyone else. Should an employee get fired because they post a lot about cats, which offends you because you are allergic to cats? That's the sort of thing this leads to. 

​47% of Republicans favor bans on building new mosques

Like it or not, your freedom of religion is also protected. If there is a demand for a mosque in an area, than building one makes sense. If there is a ton of terrorists coming out of the place, then monitoring it would be a good move. But to stop them from being built? Nope, sorry. Whether you like the religion or not, it's protected. And don't forget: in the current political climate, Christians are taking a beating. If something like this isn't stopped, nothing is stopping them from blocking the building of new churches, either.

​59% of liberals say it’s hate speech to say transgender people have a mental disorder; only 17% of conservatives agree.

It isn't hate speech. It has been defined as gender dysphoria, People claim this is no longer the case, that it is not a mental disorder, etc. And personally, in some cases, I don't believe it is. As I discussed above, there is an entire section of people who are following a trend. I don't think those people are mentally ill; I think they want attention and are lacking something in their lives. But people with actual gender dysphoria need psychiatric help, which most do receive. As far as the surgeries... it's your body and your money. It doesn't impact me at all. Do what you want. 

​39% of conservatives believe it’s hate speech to say the police are racist; only 17% of liberals agree.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I have a very small window of what I consider to be "hate speech." This is no exception. Calling the police racist is not hate speech. For one thing, police officer is not a segment of society; it's a profession. We call lawyers liars and politicians crooked all the time, and no one calls that hate speech. Calling the police racist is a belief, and people are entitled to that belief. I personally think it is painting people in the profession with a very broad brush and it isn't very informed or helpful. But it isn't hate speech. Killing cops is murder, it isn't a hate crime. Look, I've had bad experiences with cops in the past. Two, to be honest (before you start wondering what I'm into, one was recent and the other I was five years old). But I still understand that these cops are not all cops. 

​80% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say illegal immigrants should be deported; only 36% of conservatives agree.

It's as hateful as saying a murderer should do prison time for their crime. Illegal immigrants are in violation of the law. I don't care how hard they work, or how much they dream. They are in violation of our immigration laws. And, honestly, your screaming and whining about it is a slap in the face to the millions of immigrants who actually went through the process and did it legally, whether they became American citizens or are here on work or school visas. This usually opens a stream of how difficult it is and how they don't have options. Too bad! Doing it legally is always an option. And it's hard for a reason. You don't have a right to live here. It's a privilege. And it is one that can be denied. 

This is one of those things I always shake my head at. These people always use "every other country on Earth" when they want things like social programs that are paid for by the tax payers or changes to our Constitution. But when it comes to immigration laws? Every other country on Earth can accept or block whoever they want, but the USA is different!

​87% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say women shouldn’t fight in military combat roles, while 47% of conservatives agree.

Again, people are allowed to have an opinion, and in this case, especially those in the military who will be fighting alongside them. I, personally, don't have an issue with women in combat, as long as they don't dumb down the requirements to get into certain jobs and positions for the sake of equality. If you can't meet the requirements, you don't get in. Period. But if you can make it through, then why keep you out? But is it hateful to say women shouldn't be in combat? No, it isn't. 

​90% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say homosexuality is a sin, while 47% of conservatives agree. 

Again, no, it isn't. It's a religious belief, and one that is held by many religions (no, lefties, it isn't just a Christian thing). Most people I've met who believe it is a sin are not cruel to homosexuals. They may not want to take part in their weddings or anything like that, but they stick to the thought of "hate the sin, not the sinner." When you physically or verbally abuse someone for being homosexual, that is a hate crime. If you aren't hiring people who are homosexual, that is discrimination. But the simple act of having a religious belief is not hateful.

​Although Americans oppose (59%) outright bans on public hate speech, that doesn’t mean they think hate speech is acceptable. An overwhelming majority (79%) say it’s “morally unacceptable” to say offensive things about racial or religious groups. 

I'm not sure what is so hard to grasp about this concept. Most of us here believe people should be allowed to say whatever they want. No matter how gross your beliefs are, you have a right to them and you have the right to speak of them. This is America. That doesn't mean we agree with you. It just means we don't think you should be punished by law for it. 

Some time back, I made a video about the list of demands for white people from BLM. The comments section on that video got very salty, and more comments come in daily. I have deleted a total of zero of those comments. I have reported zero of those comments to YouTube. I had a viewer report another commenter, and I defended the guy who got reported, even though he was a member of BLM who was saying some pretty vicious things. But the comments had a range of beliefs that would make your head spin. I admit, a few nights I just cracked open a beer and gave up for the night. Anti-semitic, racist, slur filled comments were becoming the norm. And while a good deal of the comments made me want to scream, I left them there. I even left comments people left saying horrible things to me directly. I left them alone. Because I am a firm believer in freedom of speech. I hate what these people said. But I believe they have the right to say it. And it won't be me that takes them down or reports them to the powers that be. Nope, I'll defend you instead. Even if you do suck at being a person.

Now, this article goes in to great detail from here, and I encourage you to read the whole thing. It breaks down micro-aggressions, beliefs held by Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups, college campuses, etc. 

I only covered what I did because we need to stop being afraid to say what we believe. That's a huge part of defending the 1st Amendment. Stop being afraid. Yes, you will catch backlash. Yes, people will try to scream over you. Yes, people who are "on your side" will jump ship because they only agree with you on 99.8% of the things you say and they settle for nothing less than 100%. Yes, you aren't going to agree with everyone on everything. You shouldn't agree with anyone on everything, if we're going to be real. Yes, people will call you all kinds of names instead of listening to what you have to say because they can't tolerate opposing views or free thought. But by not being afraid and by speaking out, you make all of those people irrelevant. 

Every time I post to this page or I post a video on YouTube, I know I am going to get nasty comments and people will walk away, never to return. Right wingers get upset to learn I'm not a far right winger,  left wingers get upset to learn I'm not a far left winger, and libertarians get upset to learn that I lean a little too far to the right to be a true libertarian. I can only believe what I believe and understand that some people will cheer and some people will scream, and that's just how it is. And you need to get there, too. We can't be afraid of being called names by the other side, or having those "on our side" walk away because you said one little thing they didn't agree with. Be you. Be vocal. Don't be afraid. This is how we defend our Constitution. 

​All quotes taken from Cato Institute.