Political Correctness!

This is a subject I have written about before, to varying degrees, but one I wanted to touch on again today. It is difficult writing about anything these days, that may offend someone, because of the backlash, one receives, but we don't live in a banal World and should be free to say what we feel is appropriate, without fear of being branded as discriminatory, in one way or another. I do try and reflect my views on controversial topics in my bogs, especially in relation, to experiences in my life, that have left me broken at times. I do not hold back and always express how I am feeling, in the words I write. Some of the subjects I cover, can be quite difficult to recall and have caused me, a lot of anxiety in the past, but as a writer, I feel they have to be written about.

Awful situations and scenarios; painful memories and onerous, burdensome recollections, at times controversial; comments and incidents I have to remember, so others can learn and I can recover. In the two years I have been writing about my experiences, I have had nothing but good, positive feedback, no negativity or anger. If however, I speak out of tone, not in a 'politically correct' way, I am bombarded with abuse and hate from particular sections of society. People can accept bullying, sociopathy, threats and violence, yet they can't accept banter and references to a time, when socially, different practices were acceptable. To me that is screwed up, over sensitive and  fails to accept history.

I was brought up in the 1970s, again something I have written about before.  I always look back at this time, with great fondness; happy memories and innocent dreams. Since this 'controversial decade' has ended, it has been endlessly criticised, not only because of fashion, but every aspect of 70s life. Yes it was very different, we did make references to gender, colour and sexual orientation in  a very politically incorrect way, but there was no malice or loathing towards others; it was the way we were brought up, we knew no different and didn't believe we were causing harm to others.  Today we are told to forget what happened yesterday. The 1970s has become the forgotten decade; everyone looking disapprovingly at you, should you mention the wrong person, reference the wrong TV show or recall a memory that is no longer popular. Sometimes, I actually feel guilty for being born in 1971, not that I should!

Britain, is now a Country running away, scared, from its past; it looks back in horror at times, it feels it has to apologise for, when in reality, it has shaped us as people today; not always for the better, granted but not something we can escape from. People walk around, unable to speak freely, have a laugh or joke, restricting their personalities in the process. The 1970s was such an irreproachable, guiltless time for me, that I saw no bad or objectionable behaviour, just society carrying on, in the way it always had; free to express itself, without the fear of being ridiculed, branded a racist, homophobe or sexist. Do you really believe, actors, cast as such characters, in the television shows of the time, really were those individuals, or the ordinary man in the street, had racist or homophobic views? of course not; it was about the tastes and choices of an era. There may have been a small minority who were, but the vast majority were good, people, who never understood, what they were doing or saying was wrong. I suppose you could have called them naive, but they were not guilty for the charges laid at their door. We are all being asked to shoulder blame for circumstances, that are considered fallacious today. no one should be asked, to carry that burden around with them.

Political Correctness, is in itself, extreme behaviour, the  same type of conduct, that people from my generation, are being asked to apologise for. Will the same happen to those who practiced, Political Correctness, in the future. Lets think for a moment, what this type of posture has done, to the World we live in, especially in the more Liberal European societies, who have adopted it with open arms. Whole swathes of history are being rewritten, in the same way Hitler burned books, to remove inappropriate references, that he didn't approve of. Books that don't conform to the PC ideal, are being sanitised, characters changed and titles obscured, as we continue to try and erase history; this isn't right. Social attitudes have changed, beyond all comprehension, but we should not, be expected to remove bookmarks to our past; the past is important!

My Grandmother, would use words that I would never dream of using today, but I would never expect them to be forgotten.  Attitudes, aspirations and perspectives always evolve, as the decades pass, but we always recall with fondness the more quirky aspects of human nature, and that includes, the way we refer to others.  If we are forced to remove these traits, human traits from our lives entirely, then in time, extreme hatred will resurface. Part of learning is understanding; removing the reference points will prevent attainment, as the facts become obscured.

I have no doubt that Political Correctness, is responsible for much, of the extremism we see today, as Nationalism rears its ugly side; as people turn their backs on mainstream politics, society as a whole changes. We have been reminded, constantly, how wrong we are, to feel pride in our nation, we have been asked to forget our past, we have been informed, our history is wrong, we must talk in a certain way, do not offend others and moderate who we are as people. We are constantly informed, we are wrong, wrong, wrong; yet all the while, we are fighting, some of the most extreme forces, we have ever had to deal with, in modern history. We are who we are and should never forget our roots, where we came from and the happy times we had. When others criticise us, destroy our evocation or demean our childhoods, the words we spoke or the lessons we learned, they are also destroying us as free thinking individuals. Don't let that happen, keep being who you are, don't apologise for the mistakes of others, remember with fondness and reject the dogmatism, that political correctness breeds!

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