Political correctness: the
scourge of our times
Agustin Blazquez* and Jaums Sutton
TNA News with Commentary
No. 332, Wednesday 10 April 2002
Does anyone know the origins of Political Correctness? Who originally developed it and
what was its purpose? I looked it up. It was developed at the Institute for Social
Research in Frankfurt, Germany, which was founded in 1923 and came to be known as the
Frankfurt School. It was a group of thinkers who pulled together to find a
solution to the biggest problem facing the implementers of communism in Russia.
The problem? Why wasnt communism spreading?
Their answer? Because Western Civilization was in its way. What was the problem with
Western Civilization? Its belief in the individual, that an individual could develop valid
ideas. At the root of communism was the theory that all valid ideas come from the effect
of the social group of the masses. The individual is nothing. And they believed that the
only way for communism to advance was to help (or force, if necessary) Western
Civilization to destroy itself. How to do that? Undermine its foundations by chipping away
at the rights of those annoying individuals.
One way to do that? Change their speech and thought patterns by spreading the idea that
vocalizing your beliefs is disrespectful to others and must be avoided to make up for past
inequities and injustices. And call it something that sounds positive: Political
Correctness. Inspired by the brand new communist technique, Mao, in the 1930s, wrote
an article on the correct handling of contradictions among the people.
Sensitive training sound familiar? and speech codes were
born.
In 1935, after Hitler came to power, the Frankfurt School moved to New York City, where
they continued their work by translating Marxism from economic to cultural terms using
Sigmund Freuds psychological conditioning mechanisms to get Americans to buy into
Political Correctness. In 1941, they moved to California to spread their wings. But
Political Correctness remains just what it was intended to be: a sophisticated and
dangerous form of censorship and oppression, imposed upon the citizenry with the ultimate
goal of manipulating, brainwashing and destroying our society.
PC Cuba
My first conscious exposure to Political Correctness was in 1959 the first year of
Castros revolution in Cuba while attending an indoctrination session at a
neighborhood elementary school in Havana. There I learned for the first time of the
claimed superiority of life in the Soviet Union vs. the U.S. There I also learned that the
word compañero (filtered version of the communist comrade
Fidel was denying his communist preferences) was the correct way to refer to the other
members of the new Cuban society-in-the-making.
Mr., Mrs. and Miss were no longer acceptable, and their further use could reveal that you
were not a Fidelista. Since repression and violations of human rights came roaring in
right behind Castros sweep down from the mountains in 1959, objection or rejection
of Fidel Castros revolution would (and still will) land you in a lot of trouble. You
could easily lose your life in those summary executions at La Cabaña prison under the
direction of Che Guevara.
But dont worry about Che. Che was later transformed and cleansed by the masters of
Political Correctness. His likeness became a revered icon of the far left, with T-shirts
and posters still adorning the campuses of America. The same techniques were used to
cleanse one of todays heroes, Mumia Abu-Jamal (even if he was convicted,
by overwhelming evidence, of killing a cop).
And under the pervasive guidance of Political Correctness that took hold from elementary
school to university, from the media to the arts, from the country fields to factories and
offices, Cubans learned to say what it was safe to say. Always in line with the
overpowering state. Always following the dictums of the only political party left: the
Communist Party.
The self-censorship resulting from Political Correctness easily trampled freedom of
speech. Political Correctness has succeeded in Cuba by creating a uniform political
discourse that has lasted for 43 years. Political Correctness has given the state (Castro)
complete control of speech. That is the main reason why the U.S. media cannot extract the
truth of what Cubans really feel when they interview regular citizens and deceptively
present their comments as valid to the American public. The same was true in the former
Soviet Union and the former satellite countries. The same continues in the remaining
communist world.
Its nothing new. The U.S. media must know that, so why dont they openly report
that fact instead of misleading the public? Perhaps that is the reason why the American
people are so uneducated about the Cuban tragedy and acted regrettably during the Elian
Gonzalez affair.
The PC U.S.
With profound dismay, I have seen how the scourge of Political Correctness has taken hold
in the U.S. It is very well entrenched in our educational system, at scientific, religious
and community levels, the media, the workplace and even our government. It is changing the
American society from within, and the citizens of this nation are increasingly censoring
themselves and losing their freedom of speech out of fear of Political Correctness
repression.
It is the nature of Western Civilization to be civilized respectful of others and
concerned with correcting injustices. We don't need Political Correctness to make us think
we are not civilized on our own and must have our thoughts and words restricted. In
December 2001, in Kensington, Md., an annual firefighters Santa Claus festivity to light
the Christmas tree was objected to by two families. The city council, in the name of
Political Correctness, voted to ban Santa from the parade. Fortunately, due to citizen
outcry, the decision was reversed in the end and many people protested by dressing up as
Santa.
Logically and respectfully, how can one persons benign icon be objectionable to the
point of banishment? Offer to add other peoples icons. Make it a broader
celebration. That's the Perfectly Correct American way. The rulers of Political
Correctness reach absurd levels when they refer to the betrayal of America by the spies
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed in 1953 as non-traditional
patriotism!
We see shameful situations created in our schools and universities in America that have
fallen prey to Political Correctness. Some professors, students and publications are being
attacked for expressing a point of view that differs from that imposed by a fanatical far
left, under the guise of Political Correctness.
In schools and workplaces we see that diversity has degenerated into reverse
discrimination, where often the less qualified are admitted and the incompetent cannot be
fired. We have seen characters like Rev. Jesse Jackson shamelessly blackmailing and
threatening to boycott entire corporations if they dont hire those selected by him
or simply make donations to his organizations.
The Double Standard Emerges
Our Constitution requires the separation of church and state, which has always discouraged
our public education system from teaching religion. However, in December 2001, while
Christmas cards, symbols and decorations were being objected to for the first time in
American public schools in Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Minnesota and
Oregon, in an elementary school in Texas, a girl was allowed to give to her classmates an
overview and show a video about her Muslim religion. And in January 2002, a public middle
school in San Luis Obispo, Calif., had its students pretend to be warriors fighting for
Islam. Another school near Oakland, Calif., also encouraged 125 seventh-grade students to
dress up in Muslim robes for a three-week course on Islam.
This arbitrary double standard was applied in the name of Political Correctness following
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
According to Ellen Sorokins No Founding Fathers? published
by the Washington Times on its front page on Jan. 28, 2002, even our Founding
Fathers have fallen victim to the travesty. The article says of the New Jersey Department
of Educations history standards, The latest revisions to the state standards
have disappointed educators across the country, who said the boards exclusion of the
Founding Fathers names is Political Correctness to the nth degree.
Sorokin points out that the standards specifically note that students should
identify slavery, the Holocaust and modern Iraq as examples in which people have
behaved in cruel and inhumane ways. Conveniently, communism is absent from
that short list.
In another article by Sorokin, published by the Washington Times on March 10, +Report
Blames Anti-Americanism on College Teachers, she presents two examples of upcoming courses
for next spring and fall. They are The Sexuality of Terrorism
at University of California at Hayward; and Terrorism and the Politics of
Knowledge at UCLA, a class that, according to its course description,
examines Americas record of imperialistic adventurism.
Recently, a historic photograph of the New York firefighters raising the American flag
over the ruins of the World Trade Center was going to be made into a sculpture as a
memorial. But historys revisionists used Political Correctness to dictate that other
minority faces replace some of the faces in the historical photograph! Fortunately, in the
end that didnt fly either, due to the outcry of firefighters and the public.
The Goal of the PC Dictators
For people with the background and firsthand experience of living inside a totalitarian
communist society, the tilt and goal of the dictators of Political Correctness in America
are obvious. The beneficiaries in the end will be the fanatic believers in the
totalitarian state, who, in spite of the dismal failure of communism and the 100 million
people exterminated pursuing that criminal system, have not given up.
Political and religious fanatics, as demonstrated by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the
subsequent war in Afghanistan, are extremely dangerous in todays world. All citizens
who cherish liberty must reject the scourge of Political Correctness. Freedom of speech
must be preserved in America if we are to continue to be free.
Lets say it: Castro is not a president, as the U.S. medias
Political Correctness calls him. Castro has not been democratically elected to anything in
Cuba. The correct word to define him is tyrant. He is not just a leader, as
the U.S. media also calls him. He is more of a criminal Mafioso-type character.
Why criminal? Because he has caused the deaths of more than 100,000 Cubans. Thousands have
died through his support of guerrillas in Central and South America. Thousands of blacks
were killed by Castros soldiers in Africa. Castro in the 1980s introduced the use of
bacteriological weapons to kill blacks in Angola.
How many thousands have died in America as a result of his drug trafficking into the U.S.?
How many thousands have died all over the world due to terrorists trained in Castros
Cuba?
Former Soviet colonel Ken Alibek, who defected to America, was once in charge of the
Soviet Unions production of biological weapons. In Alibeks 1999 book, Biohazard,
he revealed that with the help of the Soviet Union, in the 1980s Cuba created laboratories
to produce chemical and bacteriological weapons of mass destruction just 90 miles
from U.S. shores.
The information about Castros involvement with bacteriological weapons also comes
from various independent sources. We must not forget either that Cuba is on the U.S. State
Department's list of terrorist nations.
Why Mafioso? Well, Castro is like an untouchable godfather, surrounded by bodyguards and
thugs and a private army of about 40,000 soldiers for his personal protection (roughly the
size of the entire army of Cuba prior to 1959). He stole foreign and national properties
in Cuba. He has become one of the richest men in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
He has created a despotic and corrupt elite to exploit the Cuban people and keep himself
in power. He has made the Cuban people hostages and slaves of his corrupt regime.
The U.S. media do not call Al Capone the former leader of the Italian Mafia.
Why the double standard with Fidel and other far-left regimes? The answer can be traced to
where the sympathies lie with the elite dictating Political Correctness in America.
Its one thing is to be educated, considerate, polite and have good manners, and
another to be forced to self-censor and say things that are totally incorrect in order to
comply with the arbitrary dictums of a deceiving and fanatical far-left agenda.
Lets preserve our freedom and say NO to the scourge of Political Correctness.
*Agustin Blazquez is producer/director of the documentaries Covering Cuba,
Covering Cuba 2: The New Generation, and the upcoming Covering
Cuba 3: Elian, and author with Carlos Wotzkow of the book Covering
and Discovering.
© 2002 ABIP
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