The Origins of Political Correctness

An Accuracy in Academia Address by Bill Lind

Variations of this speech have been delivered to various AIA conferences including the 2000 Consevative University at American University

Where does all this stuff that you've heard about this morning � the victim feminism, the gay rights movement, the invented statistics, the rewritten history, the lies, the demands, all the rest of it � where does it come from? For the first time in our history, Americans have to be fearful of what they say, of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic.

We have seen other countries, particularly in this century, where this has been the case. And we have always regarded them with a mixture of pity, and to be truthful, some amusement, because it has struck us as so strange that people would allow a situation to develop where they would be afraid of what words they used. But we now have this situation in this country. We have it primarily on college campuses, but it is spreading throughout the whole society. Were does it come from? What is it?

We call it "Political Correctness." The name originated as something of a joke, literally in a comic strip, and we tend still to think of it as only half-serious. In fact, it�s deadly serious. It is the great disease of our century, the disease that has left tens of millions of people dead in Europe, in Russia, in China, indeed around the world. It is the disease of ideology. PC is not funny. PC is deadly serious.

If we look at it analytically, if we look at it historically, we quickly find out exactly what it is. Political Correctness is cultural Marxism. It is Marxism translated from economic into cultural terms. It is an effort that goes back not to the 1960s and the hippies and the peace movement, but back to World War I. If we compare the basic tenets of Political Correctness with classical Marxism the parallels are very obvious.

First of all, both are totalitarian ideologies. The totalitarian nature of Political Correctness is revealed nowhere more clearly than on college campuses, many of which at this point are small ivy covered North Koreas, where the student or faculty member who dares to cross any of the lines set up by the gender feminist or the homosexual-rights activists, or the local black or Hispanic group, or any of the other sainted "victims" groups that PC revolves around, quickly find themselves in judicial trouble. Within the small legal system of the college, they face formal charges � some star-chamber proceeding � and punishment. That is a little look into the future that Political Correctness intends for the nation as a whole.

Indeed, all ideologies are totalitarian because the essence of an ideology (I would note that conservatism correctly understood is not an ideology) is to take some philosophy and say on the basis of this philosophy certain things must be true � such as the whole of the history of our culture is the history of the oppression of women. Since reality contradicts that, reality must be forbidden. It must become forbidden to acknowledge the reality of our history. People must be forced to live a lie, and since people are naturally reluctant to live a lie, they naturally use their ears and eyes to look out and say, "Wait a minute. This isn't true. I can see it isn't true," the power of the state must be put behind the demand to live a lie. That is why ideology invariably creates a totalitarian state.........

Originally posted by grover
Ya know I am really appalled that you people can sit there and justify spewing hate as if its alright.

You throughly disgust me.

You know damned good and well what a hate crime is and you refuse to condemn it not because of the first amendment... you refuse to condemn it because so many on the right use it so often.

Ann Coulter, Micheal Savage and so many right wing blah blah blahs spew their poison every which way and its alright with you.

BUT... if one of us on the left calls you on it... all of a sudden you don\'t know what it is or right it off to \"humor\".

Disgusting. Throughly disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Originally posted by jjohns


I think your post is an example of hate speech, Grover. I would watch it if I were you. It fits your own definition perfectly.

Here is the difference between us, Grover. Yes, it is alright with me for Coulter and Savage to say whatever they want. It is also ok with me for Sharpton, Jackson, Farrakahn and others to say whatever they want.

With you, it is NOT ok for Savage and Coulter to say what they want, but if the person spewing the hate is a liberal democrat like yourself, well that is a different story.

Want to stop hate speech? Sign up at MoveOn.org and start with them.

And as an aside, once again it is not surprising that you offer not rational, logical, or persuasive argument for your position. Instead you get into the insults, attacking people instead of discussing the topic -just like I predicted you would.

You see liberals like you are so predictable. I think the foundation is this sense of entitlement that everything should be the way you want it, and everybody should act the way YOU decide they should.

When something does not go your way, you rant and rave like a spoiled child.

Why not try to put forth a rational argument of how the Constitutional guarantee of free speech should be amended. Or why laws against Hate Speech should be allowed in spite of the 1st Amendment.

We all will be waiting, but not holding our breath, for your logical, well-reasoned argument.