Persuasive Rhetoric

However, many groups claim that political correctness in society is justified in its efforts to sanitize offensive material created though years of oppressing minorities. What was originally a noble idea, to remove blatant words of offensive meaning, has turned into an “over the top” effort to rid any words of possible controversy. We are regulating our ways of plain speaking, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. Laws of restrictions on slander and public decency should be decided on the common law methodology and not by the interests of the liberal “mob”. If plain speaking is not allowed, clear thinking is

The term politically correct first appeared in the 1960’s and from then it has evolved far beyond its originally purposes. In his article “Apple Removes All American Civil War Games From the App Store Because of the Confederate Flag”, Tasos Lazarides informs people about Apple’s decision to remove the imagery of the Confederate Battle Flag the author does not take a strong position in the argument. He uses the article more for informational purposes, as opposed to using the article for an argument. Recently there has been uproar over the use of the Confederate Battle Flag. People find it offensive and therefore, it is being taken down everywhere. The flag is historical and does carry connotations; however, that is

Anywhere in America today, a newspaper headline or magazine article touts an alleged injustice against an individual based on their race, handicap, religion, or sexuality. Yet the supposed victims of discrimination are sometimes the very people shouting the loudest if they receive the equal treatment they are demanding. If taken on a case-by-case basis, there is certainly bountiful evidence authenticating the practice of impartiality does occur. However, the danger of attempting to placate all by offending none, can destroy every American’s right to free speech. We have become a nation so focused on policing our own thoughts and expressions we bowdlerize their very intent and meaning. Consequently, this

Trigger warnings, safe spaces, and microaggressions; call it by any name you want, but political correctness has entered our life in academic, work, and personal environments. This fear has created a widespread impact in our scholastic exchanges, our Universities and schools now police the exchange of ideas, the conversation of the minds that they are chartered to encourage, they have suppressed. When it comes to talking about political correctness you have to “watch what you say” you don't want to “offend anybody” but that shouldn`t be the case. We should recognize what you are discussing when you need to discuss political rightness and research a little before you embarrass yourself, then reassess where you stand, lastly go out and get it going. Despite the fact that nothing will change in the event that we don't do anything on a national, worldwide, or neighborhood level, individuals are excessively outrage since we have to teach ourselves, and go and do something and as opposed to getting angry, we can go out and accomplish something.

Imagine living in a country that does not allow us to have the right to think or voice our own options. Living under someone else words and orders is brutal. In this article, “Political correctness? No, politeness” by Neil Joseph, he expresses his thoughts about political correctness. Joseph talks about how the term political correctness has been thrown around quite loosely by candidates. Political correctness is defined as “agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. People should have the freedom to say what they want to say because no one owns them.

Students of today are not being challenged as they should. Political correctness has become to run rampant and has come to silence great, intellectual minds. They are unable to speak out on different topics because what they have to say may be harsh, or hard to hear. Students do not want to be challenged, they want to be coddled. They want to go back to kindergarten and have their nap times, to have a “safe-space” that they can retreat to. They want juice boxes and puppy piles, to not face a harsh truth that can help them grow as a person. They know nothing of a harsh life, no hardships any more. Simple words in a books have become too much, they cannot handle reading a book that may “trigger” them. They have no sense of ownership. Everything has to be PC, to fit the norm. To go against the grain, to tell the truth when the truth may be an unpopular opinion, to do this is a sure-fire-way to get a very harsh backlash. Which, when thought about, seems to be rather ironic and hypocritical. When a person sees a wrong and tries to speak out against it and is unable to because of the fear for the backlash that is sure to follow, that is where being PC is harmful. A well known comedian, Jerry Seinfeld has this to say,

There has been an increase of “political correctness” in the United States over the past few decades, many think that this increase is a sign of a more liberal and progressive country, others believe that this is holding citizens to an unreal standard for how they interact with each other. Authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt explain the fine line between asking a legitimate question or voicing a realistic opinion and trying to be offence or stating a microaggression. They claim that a microaggression can be anything simple from saying “America is the land of the free” to something truly awful like telling an asian person “aren’t you supposed to be good at math”.

In his 2012 book The Next Nightmare, Peter Feaman discerningly defines political correctness as a conformity to the belief that anything which could offend someone’s political sensibilities should be eliminated. This definition reveals the inherent attack on freedom of expression, because in today’s overly sensitive society, there is no telling what could offend someone’s political sensibilities.

Political Correctness (Revision #1) In “Not a Very P.C. Thing to Say”, Jonathan Chait explains how the meaning associated with political correctness has changed over the years. In the 90’s, political correctness was first seen in academics and has now made its way to popular culture and social media. Debate is now seemingly impossible because people are afraid to be criticized for what they have to say. Audiences also choose to perceive a speaker’s message based on his race and gender.

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” (“The Bill of Rights: A Transcription). Arguably one of the most important amendments, the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States is generally summarized as protecting the rights of each citizen to Freedom of Expression. While it may be one of the core values of American society, one’s right to Freedom of Expression has become involved in a debate that rages on in the modern day. The First Amendment has become one of the main supports for the argument against the Political Correctness Movement, which has been growing and gaining more influence over the years. Many feel that this controversial movement, which puts an emphasis on removing or changing language and behavior that could be considered offensive, stands in direct opposition to the First Amendment. Proponents of the Political Correctness Movement argue that there is no conflict between Political Correctness and Freedom of Expression. There is no dispute, however, that this debate has had an influence on many different parts of society. From politics to academics, to media, to business, and even to casual conversation, this debate is virtually

Although the merriam webster dictionary definition defines political correctness as “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated”, political correctness actually does not have one specific meaning. Instead it has a history of meanings: a list of definitions that different people have deployed the term as. Only by the comprehension all the derived meanings, having the full knowledge of the history and how political correctness was started will one understand the consequences and the debates that are revolving around political correctness

“Terms such as politically correct thus have a hidden history, uncovering which is dependent both on the accurate recollection of those who were there,” (Cameron, 1995,78).

Political correctness is frequently satirised as a construct of a heavily censored society. However, it is not essentially censorship, where it is the public or institutions censoring the language. Instead, politically correct language is essentially self-censoring, as it is concerned more with the mechanisms of the thought process and trying to change them. This is done by the encouragement of use of certain lexemes, the creation of neologisms and finally, the semantic shift in various lexical items. Through the use of these methods, politically correct language achieves its goal of being contextually inoffensive.

Political correctness is the idea that certain words, policies, or opinions are too offensive and taboo that they should be censored. While this definition may seem unfair, that is exactly what it is. This idea of being politically correct is on the rise in America, with various factions and sides taking advantage of it. Most notedly, it has taken effect in such areas such as the media, academia, and industry. In these areas, employees, students, or any subject in question may be put to the test of whether or not their views are in line with politically correct guidelines. In many of these incidents, the subject in question may be reprimanded, ostracized, or otherwise punished for their crimes of thought or expression. This is a hotly debated topic in America, with both sides of the debate passionately disputing the worth of such a thing. Due to its widespread influence, it is debated in nearly every aspect of American life. Some feel that is necessary, as it protects minorities, women, or any group that may be discriminated against from offense and or “hateful speech”. Others feel that it is a clear assault on freedom of speech and disproportionately punishes those for trivial comments or opinions where no true offense should be taken. In this essay, the clear and present danger that political correctness poses to our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression will be proven and explained in vivid

Language can make you free because, open mindedness creates the opportunity for more compassion; with the countless epidemics America enquires, compassion is a crucial factor for peaceful coexistence of Americans .Exploring different points of views can make you free by not being blinded by your own perspective just because it is all that you have known.