A bit of tongue-in-cheek humor in this poem I wrote, and also some political and human right passion, too…
Someone on [a mailing list] wrote "Merry Christmas everyone (I couldn’t say this on my Politically Correct campus!)" I was going to send him a private note that it’s not a "politically correct" thing that some people don’t celebrate Christmas…then a second person posted and ended with a reference (this time saying "happy holidays…the PC Police got me") so I decided to spend some of my day today writing a poem.
Here is what I wrote and posted to the list, in the form of a poem I had spent part of the day working on.
I was going to just send a private note, but now that two people have raised the issue on this list, I wrote this poem earlier today for posting in response. HB
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
On this fine snowy winter’s day I’ve chosen to reflect
On the usage and the meaning of "Politically Correct"
This note is really meant to question, and rather than berate
This holiday, to point out, Chrismas, some of us don’t celebrate:
For some of us are Jewish, and it seems rather odd to me
For us who don’t "do" Christmas to be labeled as "P.C."
While some Semites have a Hanukah, others practice Ramadan
(We speak of Muslims here, those not bombed to Kingdom Come)
What with some of us Semitic, rather odd it seems to me,
To label those who don’t "do" Christmas under dreaded said "P.C."
And let’s not forget Kwanzaa, for some, alternative to Christmas
And practicers of Winter Solstice, or sundry other nonchristians
‘Tis true, all of us combined exceptions, still a minority we form
Yet we, you see, would rather be "P.C.", than pressured to conform
There be too Atheists, Agnostics, disbelievers, so-called "heathen"
Both those who doubt a God, and those who see no rhyme or reason
Advertised to be shoppin’-unto-droppin’, a "religion" of this season
* * *
In days of old, the blood ran cold from Natives’ hands cut off;
And yet today, to my dismay, this deed is hidden from most eyes
Columbus told "bring me some gold!", the Natives failed to bring enough
For this Columbus cut their hands, and this is why I understand
That bloodied Native cries mourn the ships’ appearnace in the skies
Yet why is it called "P.C." when some dare Columbus criticize? (*)
So if thyne audience be Christian, by all means proclaim it loud:
"Merry Christmas to all" with our blessing, say it proud
But be it ever damned "P.C." to dare suggest a change-about
"Merry Christmas" won’t quite do for addressing a general crowd
* * *
To punish thee, enough rhymes have we thyne braine to quite deform
(And it still seems quite odd to me
To label all of this "P.C.")
‘Tis true, those of us who raise exceptions, a minority we do form
Yet we, you see, would rather be "P.C.", than pressured to conform
(*) "THE SAVAGE INJUSTICE of the Europeans [discovering America] rendered an event, which ought to have been beneficial to all, ruinous and destructive to several of those unfortunate countries," wrote someone guilty of "political correctness", who continued that, "[with] the superiority of force" the Europeans commanded, "they were enabled to commit with impunity every sort of injustice in those remote countries." Adam Smith wrote [_Wealth of Nations_, IV, 1, i, 470], "revealing himself to be an early practitioner of the crime of 'political correctness'" (noted with irony in _Year 501: The Conquest Continues_ by Noam Chomsky; here and elsewhere Adam Smith's actual words reveal him to have had some fairly decent and humane sentiments, and not to have been the freemarket fanatic nut he's portrayed as) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Heard enough about P.C.? Want no more quotes? Then hit "delete" now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Politicians and mass media have taken to denouncing attempts to impose 'political correctness'...but the politicians and media sounding the loudest alarms often wield enormous clout to define America's politically acceptable boundaries [e.g. those who like Adam Smith point out the facts on Columbus, are labeled "P.C."] In effect, "political correctness" is a taunting phrase shouted by the powerful as an accusation against fainter voices trying to get a word in edgewise. The more the powers-that-be flog the P.C. horse, the more their own hysteria--and intolerance--gain momentum. Along the way, they reinforce the rigorous limits on political discourse already in place. Usage: If you want to trash campus activists or anyone else you'd like to silence, accuse them of "political correctness." That way, with two words, you can accuse them of trying to do what you've just done--label certain views as beyond the pale of reasonable political discussion." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "[P]olitical correctness" does not exist, and has never existed, as a body of political ideas. It is not an ideology, like socialism, liberalism, or nationalism, nor is it an organized (or disorganized) social movement. Nor is it a world view, a moral philosophy, a partisan organization, an intellectual trend, or even an academic faction. As a description of political ideas, "political correctness" expresses, literally, nothing. It is an empty vessel of a signifer into which meaning is poured on a purely expedient and ad hominem basis. [Political leaders,] enforcers of today's brittle status quo now employ "politically correct" to describe any political position which disputes the soundness of economic life, the validity of the assertion that racism and sexism no longer influence our society, the infallibility of corporate power, the nobility of right-wing culture, the value of militarism,... Jamin Raskin http://harelbarzilai.org/poems/2bpc.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------