Society Appropriateness
po·lit·i·cal
cor·rect·ness
noun
- The
avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression
or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of
people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
- Political
correctness (adjectivally, politically
correct, commonly abbreviated to PC) is a pejorative term used
to criticize language, actions, or policies seen as being excessively
calculated to not offend or disadvantage any particular group of people in
society. ~ Wikipedia
This is one subject
that everyone is passionate about, some for and some against. My intent on this blog has always been to
share my perspective, without the conviction that it is right, or wrong. It’s been said before that opinions are like rear-ends
everyone has one. The ideal situation
would always be that we be free to share what’s on our minds without forcing it
onto others.
As an example my
political preference is personal as long as I keep it to myself. The minute I try to convince others that my
candidate is the chosen one (as has been said before by fervent political
participants) than I become fair game for anyone that thinks otherwise. There was a time in my early adult years
(early to mid-twenties) when the work force in my chosen profession was a good
mix of all cultures, and it seems that everyone (culture) was fair game for the
banter and jokes in the work place.
I never met anyone in
that work environment that was malicious.
It seems that everyone would give and take. The best you could do to defend yourself was by
being quick with the come-backs. Despite what today would be seen as some kind
of abuse, I know from personal experience that I could stand back to back with
anyone of those many people that I worked with in a heated conference room
business discussion or on any street corner or back alley and prevail.
When I first reached
the corporate management level on my way to corporate headquarters, I remember
attending my first Regional meeting of District Managers, at the Vice President’s
home (Santa Barbara, California). During
the first phase of the meeting was a cocktail hour. I was supposed to meet and greet other
managers (I was one of the newest to ascend to the position). My direct region manager found me in a corner
of the patio having a cocktail with my date, and he approached us. He said you are supposed to be mixing in and
getting to know the other managers before the dinner begins. My respond was I am trying to have a couple
of drinks to loosen up first.
He pulled me away from
my date, and said, you need to face reality, because you are not fooling me for
a minute. He continued; you are not
mixing in because you don’t feel that you belong in this crowd. Then he went on to point out many of the
managers in the room, and said: see the gathering by the swimming pool, one is
Italian, one is Portuguese, one is Polish, and I’m not sure what the two other
guys are. You are Mexican, and you think
you are the only minority here. Well, he
said, I am Portuguese, and you and I belong here as much as anyone else.
With that he walked me
over to the group of managers that we had just discussed and his wife took my
date to introduce her to other ladies in attendance. Within a few years I went on to excel within
the ranks of the corporation, I had the opportunity many times to introduce other
young managers to the social aspect of the corporate ranks.
I guess that my reason
for mentioning the above is that, I am not sure what went wrong with our society,
one thought that is mentioned regularly, is that “Common Sense” died. Many people in our society have become meaner,
and abusive. Many others want to exercise
their rights at the expense of other people’s rights. We need to be constantly reminded that our
rights start with us (the individual) and ends right where someone else’s
begins. We need to remember that we all
have equal rights in all areas. I agree
that people with more wealth can better defend their rights, but that is for a legal
battle in court, not on the streets. For
the streets, I am always accompanied by Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. There was a time when I thought I was
indestructible, but common sense still dwells here, and thus Mr. Smith and Mr.
Wesson.
To this day, I am not
sure if I am a good person because I am or if I am a good person because too
many people in the area know me and I need to be on my best behavior always
(again common sense). The bottom line is
that I am considered by many that know me to be a good person of integrity. I personally believe that most often
political correctness goes too far. Some
semblance of balance would be welcomed (from my perspective). The best is yet to come…….
