Tuesday, 11 July 2017

The Intolerance of the Politically Correct

It's been said a hundred times but the politically correct really are unable to extend the same tolerance they demand from others to those who have breached their standards. They position themselves as guardians of morality but are really only concerned with the letter of the law. Its spirit passes them right by. Is this because that fundamentally they are self righteous Pharisees whose real pleasure is in signposting their virtue by condemning others? Quite obviously, yes it is.

A foolish politician has used a phrase which should have been allowed to fade into obscurity long ago. But when she was growing up it was not uncommon as I can attest, being of a similar age to her. These things might slip out in an unguarded moment but generally they don't signify much more than a person's age and background. When will we realise that whether a person appears racist or sexist or anti-racist or anti-sexist is largely immaterial? These are intellectual positions or habits, cultural or generational. What really matters is the state of a person's heart and how much true loving kindness they possess. I know people who tick all the politically correct boxes but whose hearts are dead. I have known others who would have said worse things than this politician did but who had true love for all, regardless of race or whatever. 

Think twice before you cast stones. Don't judge by appearances. Judge by the heart.



2 comments:

David Balfour said...

Bravo William! My sentiment exactly. Judge by the heart indeed and be guided by intuition! Legalism and witch-hunting are tools of oppression and are often enforced in a mercilessly draconian way for percieved crimes against PC. Love and compassion are the only antidotes and forgiveness to redress the balance. Yes, true racism or sexism should not be accepted but there is an appropriate level of response and condemnation for these injustices. Instead what is often seen is entirely out of keeping with many situations that have been blown well out of proportion in order to exact a 'pound of flesh' from the PC transgressor. There often seems to be a kind of mercillous revelry to be detected in the media at enjoying watching someone get strung up and humiliated before being disgarded when the focus of attention moves onto the next new outrage in the war on non-conformity with PC.

ajb said...

Yes, PC people often are highly intolerant, but typically largely blind to their own intolerance. The 'tolerance' stuff is largely just rhetoric, designed to enact a more specific political agenda.