It is hard to say if society now faces more or greater problems than in years past. It seems so but then every generation thinks that they have a more difficult time than their predecessors. It is more likely that our problems have always remained the same and what is different now is that the ills that we are facing are not being handled as well as they once were. If there is any one overriding reason why this is so, it is the obsession with the current prime directive of political correctness.
A couple of weeks ago UK Tory leader David Cameron took on political correctness, criticizing the fear of being judgmental and society’s moral neutrality. As an example, Cameron criticized people who say that there is an obesity problem rather than state the obvious; that some people just eat too much. The Tory leader also pointed out that such things as alcohol abuse and drug addictions are viewed as external events, much like plagues and the weather are.
Although Cameron was met with a great deal of criticism from the expected sources, he was at it again this week. He stated that he agreed with US presidential candidate Barack Obama who this week criticized black men who abdicate their responsibilities to their families, especially regarding their children. While blacks are of course free to make such comments, the same words spoken by a white male yield nothing except cries of racism. Such is the power of political correctness; that two men can say virtually the same thing and the result is that one is praised and the other damned.
It is true that Cameron is only the leader of the opposition and depending upon how deeply ingrained political correctness is in the British psyche, he may never form a government. Nevertheless he spoke with a type of candor that is rarely seen in Canadian political leaders, even those who self describe themselves as conservatives.
But in Britain, even the left of centre Labour government doesn’t always follow the politically correct line. Earlier this week the government published a Youth Crime Action Plan. In introducing the plan, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that youth crime “must be tackled head-on”. For those who live in and around socialist Toronto, this is a far cry from the bleeding heart local politicians who believe that crime can all but be eliminated if only they can build enough basketball courts. As well as provisions in the Youth Action Crime Plan that deal with young hoodlums, this plan also makes provisions for parental responsibility. Under the proposals, parents who refuse to accompany their minor offspring to court can be summonsed to appear. And parents will be held to account for seeing that their kids complete their out of custody sentences such as community service. This is a far cry from how Canada views parents and parental responsibility.
In Canada, where political correctness is worshipped almost as much as global warming, many parents are viewed as victims and far more sympathy from the powers that be than real victims who have been stabbed, shot, robbed, assaulted or otherwise victimized by what is fashionable to call young criminals - at risk youth. These parents are victims because they are immigrants or visible minorities or addicts or poor or single mothers or any combination thereof. It is way too much to ask these people to take responsibility for anything that their precious children who they have minimal contact with, do.
The reality is that political correctness is preventing us from clearly stating the problems that we need to deal with. Many major societal problems are viewed, as David Cameron put so succinctly, as external matters over which people have no control.
It’s too early to say how successful Britain will be in solving its problems by doing away with the current emphasis on being politically correct. But it will be worth watching.
