Political correctness, along with its close kissing cousins: theological correctness, sexual correctness, philosophical correctness, rhetorical correctness and social correctness, have always been part of our culture. Democrats, Liberals, Libertarians, Conservatives, moderates: everyone is to blame from time to time. And many are to be commended from time to time.

Why?

Because occasionally “correctness” is quite necessary: just to keep the discussion honest. One certainly shouldn’t tolerate a pedophile on a school board. Voting one into office is a real bad idea. Certainly we aren’t required to tolerate someone so silly as to demand execution for picking of the nose.

But no one does political correctness better than the Republican party these days…

I was listening to NPR yesterday and Rick Parry was defending Mitt Romney being a Mormon. You see Republican speaker after Republican speaker was going on and on about Mormonism being a “cult.” Though I am no Parry fan, I would like to thank him for not bowing down to theological correctness… at least this one time.

You see since the Religious Right kidnapped Conservatism in the 60s theological correctness has been as crucial to the movement as political correctness, if not even more crucial. I was there helping to run a race for the Conservative Party in Nyack, NY: close the New York City, when they decided to take over, and saw one candidate taken down over theological incorrectness.

Never you mind that when Christianity started it was “a cult,” by definition: a small group of people faithfully following an out spoken leader who may claim to have special powers, or insight. Both qualifiers not necessarily always part of the definition, but frequently applied. Oh, and also possibly part of the definition: what the “cult” leader is preaching is generally thought to be out of the mainstream of theological thought at the time. Not “out of the mainstream” as defined by the leader, or even the general public. Especially these days, media is a convenient super bullhorn for those yelling about correctness: always as defined by those who ridicule both the cult and the leader the most. Negative connotation to “cult” not necessary, but unfortunately assumed these days.

I find it so odd that the motives of those who so eagerly define another group as a “cult;” in the most negative sense of the word, is almost never questioned, like during recent Republican “debates” and other meetings leading up to 2012.

And obvious those motives are questionable: people just don’t think about the words they use when it’s more convenient to limit the definition to something that can be used to club other people with… a “club” almost always made out of vast generalizations.

But it’s certainly not just the religious aspects to the ruling far Right part of the Republican Party we’re referring to here. And there can be little doubt that the far Right pretty much dominates the Republican Party. Conservatism was once a respectable, yet not mainstream, part of the Republican Party. Now there’s a good portion of what they call “Conservative” that goes way beyond traditional Conservatism. Goes to a rigid ideology that demands religious correctness. Goes to a form of economic “free trade” correctness where every millionaire is a “job producer…” where the rich and the politically correct are to be worshiped no matter how they got their money… and our labor organized workers: including “former” heroes like firemen, policemen and teachers are just “g-dam lazy, worthless, a-holes who should be thankful for what little they have.”

Witness the barrage of assumptions and outright name calling spewed by media types on the major networks on TV these days when it comes to the Market Street protesters.

Who are the real elitists here? Not Leftists. If you’re not part of the rich-club, or some CEO: no matter how incompetent, then you’re a pot smoking hippie who needs to get a real job.

Talk about class warfare.

Once again, no one does it better than the Right, while accusing everyone else of doing it.

Correctness: Teabag protestors… all are patriots.

Incorrectness: Wall Street protesters.

There’s no polite way to put it: both generalizations are pure partisan driven bullshit. But that never gets in the way of those attempting to enforce political correctness.

Political correctness: where ”Liberal” is a curse word.

 Isn’t it interesting that mainstream media helps them by showing up wherever the teabags gather, but avoided the Streeters for quite a while; like they avoided covering the largest protest in human history just before Iraq. This morning I caught CBS news, if I remember right, interviewing an anti-protester walking to work through the protest who claimed the protesters wanted business to be regulated and subjected strict prosecution of the law. He said, “But business should be beyond law.”

No comment on that, and many other odd, scary, assertions from the Right. They just moved on; returning to the usual sport they dare call “news:” criticizing the protester’s comments and signs.

 So much for “Liberal” media… or anyone in the MSM getting a million miles near “fair and balanced.”

  Then you have the rhetoric, like those who claimed Hitler, Stalin and the worst humanity has to offer were Liberals. Obama is a Socialist, Nazi, lazy, good for nothing… (racist intent here deleted)… Health Care is a Nazi program. Yup, I remember Hitler didn’t care about the Jews, invading Poland and beyond. In fact Hitler’s real sin was he wanted everyone, including Jews, to have health care.

Not.

Obama, who never compromises (sic), shoved, jammed, rammed his big gay wad called health care up the nation’s patoot. No Republican every did anything like that. (W.) And we know the current crop of Republicans, and our past Republican president, always compromise… except damn near never.

Political correctness is an inter-party sport as well, like Romney being slammed for being part of the Mormon “cult…” (If Mormonism qualifies as “cult,” certainly gay hating, attempt to scare them straight, fundamentalists do as well, Ms. Bachmann.) And God help you if you ever change your mind, or your opinion, like Romney has. Doing that is a sign of mental weakness, if you listen to them. Not what it may be: being a thoughtful human being.

No real human need attempt to ascend in Republo-world. Only Con-auto-bots need apply.

These folks have nothing on Barry Goldwater: a moderate, maybe even a liberal, when compared to this crew as they compete to see who can push the envelope on extreme rhetoric. For those of us old enough to remember, can you imagine in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, such a collection of candidates? Each and every one trying to show their worthiness by giving the most disgusting BJ to their beloved shisen golem: right wing extremism.

I remember a wise man telling me once, and damn… I can’t remember who it was, “Yes, Liberals have a problem with political correctness. They might publicly chide you. Ignore you. But no one does it better than today’s Conservatives. Be politically incorrect and, if they can get away with it, they’ll kill you. If they can’t, you’ll wish they had.”

Disagree and many of their talking heads will do all they can to shout you down. If you’ve listened to hosts like Thom Hartmann when he has a rightie on you’ll notice the most frequent method of debate is to interrupt Thom and then talk non-stop at supersonic speed no matter what Thom says. I keep yelling at the radio, “Thom, pot them down and don’t let pull the volume back up until they promise to stop. If they won’t stop: hang up. Tell them in advance that’s what you will do the first time they try that nonsense.”

Sigh. Unfortunately even talk radio is still mostly a one way medium. Call some shows and unless you’re politically correct you won’t get on at all.

And listening is so damn b-o-r-i-n-g. You already know the talking points behind the talking points: the adjectives, the nouns, used instead of your name. You are an “idiot,” “stupid,” and need to “educate yourself.” Ironically, at the same time, the claim is made that the Left always argues by insult.

Why do they argue this way? Because…

Disagreement is not to be tolerated.

Political incorrectness must be punished.

These are the rules that must be obeyed by the Kings of Political Correctness.

For the sake of all sanity, our country, and perhaps the whole damn human race…

They…

must

…be disobeyed.

 -30-

Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 30 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.

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Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
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