Why Is It Surprising?

I poked fun at the topic of this post on Sunday, but after reading today's LA Times (which I get through email), I thought it odd that the subject of said email was "Top of the Times:HBO chief executive fired in wake of arrest." Now, I don't mean that I think it odd that someone as powerful in the cable network industry as Chris Albrecht is got fired or arrested. Rather, I thought it odd that the people at the LA Times thought (or more likely KNEW) the headline would get more people to open the email rather than just passing it over. It's the whole celebrity thing and as Americans we have this strange fascination with seeing celebrities and people in powerful positions fall from grace in the most public way possible.

But why is it surprising to us when they do fuck up? Is the CEO of HBO supposed to be more than human and not ever make a mistake? Is Paris Hilton supposed to be in college so she can take over and manage daddy's fortune? Alright, you got me there... Paris, get your ass in college and grow up! The list could go on and on about the people we love to hear about getting in trouble, or having trouble in their lives. How many copies of Enquirer has Britney sold in the last couple of years? How many mainstream newspapers sold off a little flash during the Superbowl of a nipple? Or the subsequent reaction of the FCC with the hearings and fines?

Personally, I don't have a fascination with celebrity. I don't know these people, they mean nothing to me in my day to day life. There are celebrities that I admire, but frankly, I would admire them even if they were not famous and rich. I think Charles Barkley summed it up best while playing basketball when he said he does not consider himself a role model for kids. He knew, and said, that he was just a guy who got lucky and was able to play basketball for a living. Charles, in the same interview, said in his opinion it would be much better for the kids to have role models closer to home (parents, teachers, grandparents, etc.) than to make a basketball player (or any celebrity) into one. The kids don't know the basketball player, they do know their parents. And maybe that is the reason his comments caused such an uproar among the parents and society in general. Maybe, just maybe, rather than trying to "find" decent role models for their kids, Charles Barkley pointed out they should just "be" decent role models.

Anyhow, I just think that when we pay celebrities millions to act crazy and stupid for a living, or millions to play a game, and then read in the paper that they are still acting crazy and stupid in real life, or still playing games in their personal lives, we get what we ask for. So why is it so surprising to everyone?

The Political Wrongness of Political Correctness

I do not think the whole phenomena of being "politically correct" started with some public relations spin doctor who coined the phrase (or at least thrust it into the spotlight of main stream media. I'm not sure who or when it was coined.) in the mid 1990's. The ideas behind it, and the fact that in society in general we try not to intentionally be nasty or hurt any one's feelings, have always been here. The only difference is that in the time before it was considered common decency. It was just how you acted. On the other hand, it was not restrictive when it came to your own thoughts on a subject. Prior to the political correctness craze, we had a good idea, or could get a good idea quickly, of the topics between ourselves and who ever we were talking to that should be avoided in polite, social conversation. Not that they would be avoided at all times, and not that one or the other should have to change their views. If you were in the mood for a good informal debate, you knew who to talk to, and you could.

The version of this concept that is presented through political correctness is not quite like that. It literally states that I am to express no thoughts, feelings, or opinions, that might potentially be offensive to anyone, at anytime. I just don't get that. I got the idea of "picking my battles" and the fact that some things were just off limits depending on the company, but I just cannot get my head around the idea that a change in company (to one more akin to my thinking or opinions on a subject) still does not open that subject up to discussion. It simply makes for more "pariahs" that shouldn't think that way.

So why is this so politically wrong? Simply because of the way that our laws are formed. We have a "representative" government. The whole "By the people, for the people..." thing. The greatest measuring stick our elected officials have to go by are the conversations that happen between normal folk. Gallop polls, CNN polls, MSNBC polls, or any other poll, do not even come close to giving an accurate depiction of what Americans think. Talking to us candidly does, though. However, as long as we adhere to the idea of political correctness, we cannot have candid conversations about issues effecting our society. We can merely dance around them and hope we do not step over some invisible line somewhere and perhaps offend someone.

I'm sure there's some comedic quote I could put here, but the fact is this. The Bill of Rights grants us all kinds of wonderful liberties, but it does not grant us the right to never be pissed off, or disagreed with. In fact, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution, gives us the right to be pissed off at, and disagree with, our government. Seeing as how that very same government is representative, by inference, we all have the right to be pissed off at each other and disagree. If our policies and laws are derived from public feeling on a particular subject, we then have to keep open the avenues of discussion and debate, no matter if it pisses us off or we get disagreed with. The alternative, closing these through the idea of political correctness, means that only the lobbyists, the people with enough money to donate so they are heard, get a say in how the policies and laws are formed. This in not the American way! Nonetheless, if you support the idea of political correctness, as it is now, this is the very thing you supporting no matter what comes out the other side of your mouth.

Want to change it? Start living by, and teaching the children, the idea of social decency, and throw the flawed ideals of political correctness out the fucking window.