I read this op/ed piece in the LA Times Online today that expands on the concept of being overly PC. Click on the title above to read the article. I have to admit, it got to me. Really.
The gist of the piece is thus: In the attempt to cover the war(s) in the Middle East, the lanugage used by the media is so couched in niceties that we lose sight of what the fight is about in the first place, and we tend to forget that there is real death, real blood, and real horror that goes on every single day. The media is no longer presenting a picture of reality, but a prettied up G-rated version that is suitable for family viewing.
If this isn't bordering on censorship, then I don't know what is. Every little bit of our right to free speech that we give up (oh we can't say "short people" anymore, we have to say "vertically challenged"), gives just a little more leeway to those who once upon a time called Mark Twain a racist and banished Huckleberry Finn from school libraries, and gives credibility to those who claim that Christmas is offensive to other religious groups. Most people I know from different religious backgrounds have the intelligence to know that one's own beliefs are not so easily swayed by seeing how other people worship/celebrate/whatever you want to call it, and respect other's rights to their own beliefs. Duh. (In my personal opinion, Christmas has become so damn commercial that there is hardly a trace of the religious aspect of it left anymore anyway.)
As far as the media is concerned, it is their job to report the truth, and truth cannot be accurately portrayed if you can't call a war a war. What it boils down to is politics - politicians afraid of losing support of the constituency if people got a good look at what is really going on. They are basically telling you, America, that you are too stupid to see it and make a proper judgement. To quote A Few Good Men, "You want the truth? You can't HANDLE the truth."
If people are willing to spend 20 minutes in the grocery store deciding which brand of low-fat cottage cheese to buy, analyzing the fat content versus the sodium, calories from sugar versus starch, why aren't they just as willing to do the same for the information they take in? Most people don't immediately buy the first car on the lot, they comparison shop - but do people comparison shop when it comes to their own informativeness? Information is a commodity in today's world, and must be treated as such.
I beg you to not take your information from one place. Look around - read international newspapers as well as the local ones (they're readily available and FREE on the internet). Don't take all of your news from 30 second snippets on TV. It's your responsibility as citizens to keep yourselves informed. Don't become a part of what Chomsky calls the "mindless herd," believing only what is spoon fed to you by media conglomerates looking to make a quick buck. Information is everywhere - get some, digest it, make your own choices and judgements. This is freedom. This is what America is built on - choices and the freedom to make them. Take advantage of it.
End of rant. Thank you for listening.
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