TIME FOR POLITICAL CORRECTNESS TO GO

Anyone concerned with the future of America should be repelled by that sickeningly sweet brew of hypocrisy and sanctimony called "political correctness." It has poisoned a whole population of Americans who have passed through elite colleges and universities during these last 30 years. Add to that the insane notion that self-esteem has to be nurtured by incessantly repeating "good job" to kids who have done nothing extraordinary. They eat healthy food on their plate and they're told that it was a "good job." They bring home a report card of "C's" and they're told "good job." If they just do their homework, it's a "good job." If they really do something outstanding, how would they know it? Is it any wonder they aspire to nothing more than the mediocre? And why not? The kid who has excellent grades and scores is passed over at our finest prep schools, colleges and universities to make way for a minority kid who gets in with a far less stellar record, and what's more, he or she receives financial aid at the expense of others. Parents of white kids have to pay a lot more to cover the cost of tuition for minority kids even if the family of the minority kid has a substantial income of their own. It just isn't fair, but it's politically incorrect to complain about the unfairness. We’re being trampled and muzzled by political correctness.

When will Americans wake up to the fact that political correctness has to go if we want to reclaim our place of leadership and excellence in the world? We're being corrupted by these views and the leftist press that has been grossly negligent in not identifying and attacking the ongoing deterioration in all phases of our economy resulting from our politically correct educational system.

For more than 30 years, I have watched as scholarship has self-destructed. The Sixties generation, with its irreverence and confrontational style, was hell bent on making profound changes in America's political and cultural life. Now we have Americans voting who have no clue who or what they're voting for. They know nothing about our history, our structure of government or even the names of our elected leaders, some of whom they voted for.
A few months ago, Obama swooners were asked how they liked his choice of Sarah Palin as his Vice President, and they said they were thrilled with her. And how did they like Obama's support for the Iraq war? And they said they agreed with him.

Campus proponents of political correctness have convinced their students and the ill-informed media that they are the authentic reformers for a better America. Insane! Political correctness with its fascist speech codes and glorification of minorities is a travesty and a major contributing factor to our demise as a nation. Excellence has been trampled in favor of affirmative action. Rightly, merit was our goal as a nation. Now minority status is the entry requirement.

The solution is still at hand. We can bring back quality of scholarship rather than slick word play. We need to get away from oppression and victimization politics. We need free thought and free speech. Even making an offensive statement should still be a democratic right. Universities should be organized around vigorous intellectual inquiry not therapy and creature comforts. When will we get sick of hearing someone make a really stupid statement and being rewarded by the words, "thank you for sharing"? Colleges and universities should stop being nursing homes for kids. Politicizing multiculturalism isn't working for the betterment of all Americans. Its rhetoric has simply concealed the venality and sycophancy of the educational marketplace.

Yes, it's time for a change, and this is the change we really need.