Has political correctness, that well-meaning plan to remove negative phrases from common language, led to another kind of extremism? Swiss columnist Patrik Etschmayer writes that banning words has led to a ban on entire debates that in a democratic society, leads to the emergence of fringe groups in power.
Highlighting the case of Thilo Sarrazin, who has been driven off the Bundesbank board of directors for writing a book criticizing Germany’s immigration policies and the country’s recent Arab and Turkish arrivals, for the News of Switzerland, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part:
A lack of rational thought is a fundamental evil of almost every religion. Unchecked emotion sweeps away the truth just as a tsunami washes away a beach chair. And you don’t even have to go as far as Florida or Afghanistan. For another recent example, we need look no further than Berlin.
The very recent departure of Thilo Sarrazin from the Bundesbank board of directors followed an incredible campaign of outrage – a smear campaign, in fact – that had already been launched before the Mr. Sarrazin’s book was published. Any mention of “heretical ideas,” or “intolerable ideas,” should instantly perk up our ears. Was he inciting anyone to genocide? No. All of his theories, whether you like them or not, are within the scope of civilized debate. The public is definitely aware of the problems that he’s addressing. Perhaps we could talk about them, argue over them, seek the facts and then through open debate, find solutions.
But we cannot allow that, because in the meantime, we’re not guided by Sharia, but rather “political correctness,” or “PC” for short. Religions are not required to have to do with God, gods, angels and demons. It’s enough to establish a belief system that glorifies certain ideals and condemns others. It began sometime in the 1980s with laudable efforts to ban from everyday use, certain expressions that were used in a discriminatory way.
So every time a particular word was used in a negative way, it was banned. At some point it went beyond banning language itself to banning entire discussions, in the hopes that the problems associated with such discussions would also be banished from the world. … The world’s populists express their heartfelt gratitude. For it’s no coincidence that, since this phenomenon began, politics have become more extreme. … “PC” represents a danger to democracy precisely because it pretends to protect it by suppressing awkward debates, all the while threatening those that it pretends to protect.
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