In an attempt to be “nice” or “sympathetic” to others, Americans feel the need to be “Politically Correct”. In doing so, however, these people tend to make complete fools out of themselves.For example, the phrase “African American” has been used to refer to black Americans in a nicer way than they used to be referred to. To me, however the phrase “African American” would be an insult if I was a black American. Think about it, if you were to call someone who was an “Italian American” or a “Polish American” a “European American” wouldn’t you think they would stop to inform you of their heritage?
Why then should “African Americans” be satisfied with others naming the general region of the world they are from, without knowing which part of that region they are from? Now maybe some of the black Americans simply don’t know what part of Africa their ancestors came from, because they were forced to come to America as slaves without any proper documentation. Maybe, then these people don’t deserve the title “African American”, maybe instead they should be called “Americans” like they really are.
Even white musician Dave Matthews is more deserving of the title “African American” than many of the black people in this country, simply because he was born in South Africa and moved to America (more appropriately, he should be titled a “South African American”).
I think people who act “Politically Correct” should stop and think about what they are saying and what it means. My grandparents came from Italy and Poland. However I do not consider myself Polish, or Italian. I am an American, I have never had citizenship in any other country, and the only ties I have to those other countries is through relatives. To call me an Italian, or Polish just does not seem right. If I was born in one of those countries (Poland for example) and I later immigrated to the United States, then you could call me a Polish American.
The fear of not being “Politically Correct” in this country is a bigger problem than some may think. It gives people, yet another reason not to think, and more importantly, when they do think, they are afraid to speak their mind because their thoughts may offend someone. A perfect example of this was reported on the Fox News Channel last night on the “O’Reilly Factor” when they discussed a Massachusetts high school that is allowing their drama students to perform the “Vagina Monologues” but is not allowing “West Side Story” because they are fearing that it will cause racial tension in the school. The representative of the school that they interviewed said that many parents in the district were opposed to the school’s choices for the plays, but were afraid to voice their opinion, because they feared coming off as being politically incorrect.
A few hundred years ago, a bunch of guys by the names of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and others were not afraid of being politically incorrect by speaking their mind. The truth is, that most colonial Americans were content with living under the oppressive British government, because it was easier to go along with it than to fight against it. Thanks to these politically incorrect individuals we live in the greatest country in the world. Let’s honor them, and all they did for us by continuing the tradition of being politically incorrect by thinking before we speak, and voicing our opinion on issues which we feel are important, even if we think that no one else feels the same way as we do.
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