Thinking About PC On MLK Day

Surely Martin Luther King would feel proud of this country for electing an African-American president not once but twice. He might even think that his dream was close to fulfillment. . .

Unless, of course, he tuned in to a Trump rally. There he'd see the Old Guard of hatred, delirious with joy at the Politically Incorrect talk spewed forth by the Republican candidate. And the more hateful the rhetoric, the higher the numbers go.

"I like how he speaks his mind," his supporters gush, dreaming, I can only assume, of a return to the Good Old Days where ethnic/sexist/ageist/racist jokes of every ilk were the measure of a Good Old Boy (or Girl.)

And when White People could rejoice in their God-Given Superiority -- when the pale skin of a high school dropout made him or her feel superior to any and all with dark skins, even say, a Harvard graduate who'd somehow managed to get elected president twice.

Maybe one place where things went wrong was the label 'Politically Correct.' First, it assumes you are avoiding hateful language only because you might get called out for using words you grew up with. 

Second, many folks have negative feelings about being told what not to say. Kinda makes you want to bow up and say all kinds of things, just to express your freedom.

Perhaps it would have been better to think in terms of Politeness . . . or Kindness . . . something retro like that.

In any event, Martin, your dream isn't here quite yet.  As always, fear and ignorance and mob mentality are the enemies of civilized behavior. Worse, they can be used by unscrupulous politicians as stepping stones to power . . . to the end of the dream and the beginning of a nightmare.  

May we hold fast to the dream.