In a world where technology is thriving and students are striving, the world is still painted black and white.
There seems to be a divide among us that isn’t just in our taste of music or favorite brand of soda. We like to argue just to argue. We take sides on issues because it’s what we’re supposed to do. And in taking sides, there are only two sides: for and against. The gray area in between is not an area at all but rather a no man’s land reminiscent of the Berlin Wall.
Enter this territory and you will be forever stranded, for you are shunned by both sides. Within this unstable battleground, we often times get heated over the building blocks of our verbal rages: our words.
To understand this animosity, we must first understand the idea of political correctness, and what it even is. My dearest friend Merriam-Webster describes it as the “avoidance” of various “forms of expression” that are perceived to insult groups of the socially disadvantaged. It is often seen as being taken to extremes … oddly reflective of our country’s political environment.
Words can be powerful. We all know the phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me,” and we all know the arguments against such a silly statement. Words are the fabric used to articulate our ideas, our thoughts, and our perceptions. We all express our feelings in such words, but we differ in our opinions of how and what words should be used.
Those who promote a PC agenda wish to eliminate terms that they feel weaken the already-powerless. The public sphere provides plenty of examples. A school named Robert E. Lee Elementary, named after the late United States and Confederate Army general, has been pushed to choose another title. Not because of the school’s discriminatory administration or their racist actions — just for being the name of the school. Making a reference to God in public is treated the same as swearing. Just a reference! What’s next, can I no longer wear ugly Christmas sweaters but rather unsightly holiday clothing?
We can’t forego our history just to simply save face. It seems like the most trivial of problems, but the mentality bleeds out into the culture as a whole.
This divergent culture and difference in opinions has led our very own school to fight over the most petty of things. Some of these arguments are nothing but ridiculous. I have to thank my fellow seniors for providing me some quality material for this article. Our class truly is the best … and to show that we’re the best, we get energized on social media. There’s nothing I enjoy more than getting back-to-back-to-back notifications on my phone about the most recent rant in the “LHS Class of 2016” Facebook group. Are we really debating the issue of wheelchairs?
For those who don’t know, our senior class got into a heated debate over “Elderly Day” and if people could bring wheelchairs to school to dress up as aging old men and women. Of course, until you actually experience life inside a wheelchair all day long, it’s hard to understand the feelings of those against bringing in the wheelchairs. But at the same time, it gets taken the wrong way. I don’t think it was ever the intention of (most) people to disparage those who are disabled.
In all fairness, the school’s administration has been leading the PC Army into battle. Gone are the days where students can engage in all-out water warfare in the school parking lot. Gone are the days where students can express their creativity and joy in the form of Turnabout walkouts. Don’t dare to wear select shirts to school, either; somebody might look at it and learn about explicit content that they read on social media on the daily. People in general are tired of being bossed around and being told what they can and can’t do.
Every day, I see a bunch of finger-pointing and name-calling … not in person. This is particularly evident on Facebook. You’re either a conservative nutjob or just a part of the liberal media. There are endless posts of accusing one side of being either PC or racist. Everyone wants to identify with a side. Everyone wants to label themselves.
This dilemma is perhaps a result of our lack of daily confrontation.
If you really think about it, social media has to be at fault, at least a bit. No longer do we have to physically confront our friends and foes, for they are now only a few clicks away. It’s much easier to subtweet that bozo you disagree with rather than sitting down with them in person and discussing what has made them so upset. But why do that when you can take five minutes to post a funny new meme for some extra laughs and attention?
Ultimately, these practices hinder discussion and prevent us from coexisting with those we disagree with. Silencing our problems aren’t going to just fix them. Changing the name of an elementary school or redefining a term isn’t going to resolve our differences on issues.
You can hide from said issues, but they won’t go away magically.
It could be as simple as just getting to understand and empathizing with those you disagree with. As the great Jackie Moon said to his disgruntled teammates, “ELE: Everybody Love Everybody.”
