The Hallifordian - 2016-2017

30 Public Speaking Competition Winning Entry: ‘Is Political Correctness necessary?’ Since the dawn of the 20th Century our views on issues of gender, race, religion and sexuality have changed dramatically. Due to this and the growing diversity of the world around us it can be argued that we must adopt a level of political correctness in our behaviour towards our fellow human being. It is cer- tainly true that by doing so we can become more tolerant as individuals. Yet, has this act of common decency and tolerance gone too far? Must we self- censor our true opinions in order to prevent offend- ing someone? This is all the more important in the social-media age in which we live that has enabled us to put our opinions out there for all the world to see. As, the abuse of such platforms by a small group of individuals that intend to offend and degrade can be viewed as contributing to the growth of an exces- sively ‘PC’ society. A society in which seemingly all aspects of everyday life are censored in one form or another. Political correctness can therefore be viewed as somewhat of a ‘marmite topic’ – In that you either love it or hate it. Political correctness provides a key role at a societal level in that it ensures that individuals understand the morals and ethics which society is run by. This is particularly key given the constantly changing values of society as we all become more politically and socially aware. For example, in the not so distant past in the United States a white per- son could be justified in calling a black person the ‘n-word’. The fact that we approach the use of the word in literature such as: Of Mice and Men with a sense of taboo highlights how times have changed. When nowadays individuals use such derogatory and out-of-date terms to offend and insult they are rightly condemned for having politically incor- rect and inherently racist views. Our ever-changing views on issues of race, gender, sexuality and reli- gion thereby attempts to remove the ignorance that existed in the past allowing us to truly respect and appreciate our fellow human being. A ‘PC’ society is not one that exists in order to protect the so called ‘thin skinned’ individuals who can’t take someone expressing their opinion it is merely one that runs on COMMON SENSE. Everybody has a right to an opinion however when this opinion is designed to degrade, insult and offend often due to its archaic nature, political correctness must step in, lest we risk maintaining inappropriate views that have no place in any civilised society. Arguably, there has been a potential for political correctness to go too far at the expense of tradition particularly when this tradition is viewed as sensationalising values and ideas that are no longer accepted in society. Critics of political correctness are quick to step in and highlight how it has led to the censorship or exclusion of traditions and stories that are supposedly politically incorrect in their nature. And to be fair they do have a point, when the celebration of Easter and Christmas is heavily muted for fear of offending those who don’t celebrate such festivals this can be viewed as a step too far. Instead of limiting tradition we arguably should take strides to become more aware of the wide range of festivals in other cultures. So maybe political correctness in regards to dealing with precedent and tradition should be dealt with through a policy of acceptance and education. Tradition, when no longer applicable to the society in which we live must be phased out through a policy of common sense action rather than forced change. This has been true in the Netherlands as the tradition of “Black Pete” which forms part of the Dutch pre-Christmas festivities. Despite being racist and colonialist in its nature in the view of those outside the Netherlands, many are still happy for the character to remain as in essence it’s simply a matter of tradition. As in their view they are not commending the actions of their predecessors nor the views they held. The amendment and eventual phasing out of the character by certain parts of society has been carried out not through a system of forced political correctness that affects society as a whole. But instead logical thought. Conversely, highly public figures should ac- knowledge that they must adopt a level of political correctness in the same way as they adopt a level of savviness towards the media. As, through their status as potential role models means that it is nec-