Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul stated, “The original intent to stop outright racist, sexist or homophobic language does nothing to change people’s attitudes and language.”
He was referring to society’s constant attempts to call out offensive language and push political correctness. The attempts to end racist, sexist or homophobic behaviors are undermined when political correctness is pushed. Instead of brushing comments off, huge controversies arise that emphasize aesthetic differences between people.
Undergraduate Students Association Council Internal Vice President Avinoam Baral recently made a statement on Twitter that commented on racial profiling by the Transportation Security Administration. I do not condone what he said, nor do I think that racial profiling is morally just. However, focusing on this one comment is a waste of time. We should look at his actions and see if he has done anything to racially profile people using his position of power, rather than look at what he said on Twitter. If he has been promoting racism through his actions, then he should be reprimanded. However, if he made a joke, people need to move on from his words. Focusing on these comments hinders the progress of society.
We need to progress as a society and realize that words are simply words. There are more pressing issues in the world, such as human trafficking, world hunger and drone strikes, that should be attended to instead of worrying about what the UCLA USAC internal vice president posted on Twitter. Something does need to be done about racial profiling by federal agencies, as it is a gross overreach of the U.S. government that infringes on the rights of innocent Americans. However, focusing on political correctness will not change people’s beliefs. In fact, it will only create a constant conversation about our differences and ultimately produce more animosity between cultures. If we stopped focusing on political correctness, we could stop focusing on these differences.
Additionally, the outcry against Baral is analogous to the disgusting political process that we see in Washington every day. The media, among others, do what they can to tear down the character of politicians, regardless of the ramifications. As a consequence, we end up with mediocre politicians because the decent politicians get driven out by the public’s focus on one politically incorrect statement, as opposed to their true merit. We are creating a kind of politics that is based off of scoring political points, rather than putting somebody in office or voting for laws for moral reasons.
This political game has even crept into our student government campaigns. According to a report by the Daily Bruin, more than $25,000 was spent during the past USAC campaign cycle. This kind of overspending is enabling the type of vain politicians that will spend absurd amounts of money trying to get into office for their own personal gain, rather than supporting those who want to actually advance society.
The constant focus on political correctness only creates contempt between groups by pointing out differences. Furthermore, this focus tends to favor politicians that are going into politics for their own personal gain and drives out many genuine politicians. In order to progress as a society, it is important to stop focusing on the superficial differences between people and focus more on real issues.
Siciliano is a fourth-year mathematics/economics student and the president of Bruin Libertarians.