Page 11234..1020..»

Category Archives: Political Correctness

Dileep critiques impact of political correctness on comedy films; says Movies will become dry – TOI Etimes

Posted: March 6, 2024 at 3:54 pm

Dileep critiques impact of political correctness on comedy films; says Movies will become dry  TOI Etimes

Read more here:

Dileep critiques impact of political correctness on comedy films; says Movies will become dry - TOI Etimes

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Dileep critiques impact of political correctness on comedy films; says Movies will become dry – TOI Etimes

Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore – The SandPaper

Posted: February 1, 2024 at 10:29 pm

Im required to pass on a series of late-breaking political correctnesses. Hey, you come up with a better word to cover more than one example of political correctness.

Of imminent local PC import is a name change aligned with the resurgence of a chewy critter, one we have long known speaking of the no-longer-called gypsy caterpillar and moth.

This invasive European species, famed as a ruiner of oak trees, is well tracked, right down to when, where and why it arrived. As a bonus, the insects importer is also known.

In 1869, tienne Trouvelot imported gypsy moths to his residence in Medford, Mass. His oddish plan was to breed the fecund foreigners with equally foreign but slow-breeding silkworms, all in hopes of growing a New England silk industry. It never flew. However, a few of the moths did. The rest is invasive species history, still playing out to this day, as N.J. prepares for an insurgence of the insatiable tree leaf eaters.

But, if you vaguely recall, this is ostensibly a segment about political correctness. So

Not long ago, the Entomological Society of America evoked a name change after independently sensing the name gypsy moth was seen as a slur toward Romani people, long dubbed gypsies. It judged gypsy as a derogatory, disparaging term directed at the Indo-Aryan ethnic Roma culture. The Romani people originated in India, quickly becoming nomadic, pretty much world travelers.

The origin of the word gypsy is steeped in mistaken identity, adopted long ago after it was erroneously thought this group originated in Egypt. In reality, they hail from northern India, but the term Indian was being held in abeyance.

And what is the new PC term for the you-know-what caterpillar and moth? I was afraid youd ask that since the new term for whats eating your foliage is the spongy moth and caterpillar. Why so? I imagine the Entomological Society knows but isnt quite telling, though it is grateful for all the work that went into changing a word of the world, gypsy now being dropped from many languages.

We are grateful to the diverse community of people and organizations who have been involved in this renaming process and have committed to adopting spongy moth as well, Jessica Ware, the societys president, told CNN.

She also said public preparedness is critical in slowing the spread of the spongy moth in America. This has me a-ponder. If public preparedness is key, couldnt the society have come up with a more foreboding name than spongy moth?

LBI Sidebar: I wax sympathetic toward Romanis, having befriended a slew of them in Beach Haven, many decades back.

Some Islanders might recall when an extended family of these fine folks occupied a corner residential home on Bay Avenue in downtown Queen City. Yes, everyone called them you-know-what. Truth be told, they never showed much aversion to the term, at least not in front of me.

As best I recall, they offered walk-in fortune telling, a cultural aspect of Romani culture, not just a touristy money-making gimmick.When their teen kids and I hit the beach to hang out, they were very freewheeling. Quite cool folks.

One thing that jumped out is how the Roma women loved their gold, which is how I met them, having been in the gold jewelry trade at the time. The downside was their insane haggling over prices. I ended up giving them profitless prices just to shut them up!

Returning to the renamed spongy caterpillars, it should be interesting to see where the Entomological Society goes with Japanese beetles, German cockroaches or Mexican mealy bugs.

On the fishing side of PC, there has already been an understandable renaming of jewfish. These huge fish, able to reach over 600 pounds, are now mandatorily called goliath grouper.

Personally, I see PC umbrage potential in hagfish. Of course, its hard to say whos going to speak up as a representative of all the worlds hags. Did I just cross a line?

Another out-there PC name change arrives from the avian realm. Duck hunters and bird watchers are familiar with the oldsquaw, a type of diving duck.

Per empaths, it is feared the name might be offensive to Native Americans. Not that Native Americans think any such thing. Squaw is merely an Algonquin tribal term for woman. Should an Algonquin woman get older?

Regardless, oldsquaws must now go by the name long-tailed ducks even if they walk, swim and quack like an oldsquaw. Holding to that PC theme, what might it mean for the proverbial old wives tales? Might it become long-tailed wives tales? Lets see how that flies.

I must admit to making a glaring PC faux pas last week when, in a public forum, I yelled out to a buddy, You da man! I could hear the neck vertebrae of nearby ladies angrily swinging in my direction. Red-faced, I sheepishly said, Sorry, I meant You da person.

TURBINE TALK: While its decidedly unadvisable to say things cant get worse, Im realizing its equally follyiferous to say things cant get more complicated. Take, for instance, the offshore wind power turmoil.

I have slogged through literally volumes of technical turbine permitting and building data while simultaneously monitoring the complex coastal uprisings against wind farms being placed within seeing distance of LBI.

At some point, I might have inadvertently thought things couldnt get more complicated. I now pay the price, speaking of last weeks NJDEP announcement of the newest wind farm solicitation and biddings, headlined by AP as New Jersey OKs two new offshore wind farms that would be farther from shore and beachgoers view.

The newbie turbine pushers are Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy.

Just that quickly, things complexify, as newly proposed wind farms take a more offshore tack.

At first blush, it might seem such an eastward movement of turbines is just what the farther-out doctor prescribed, a seeming concession to the many who undertook preventing turbines within LBIs viewshed. But that would be far too simple.

Within the State House statement, there is nary a mention of eliminating or pushing eastward the continuing closer-in efforts. Atlantic Shores remains dedicatedly rooted to its nearshore farm-building.

Note: My preferred term of nearshore wind might soon have its day in the sun, allowing a differentiation between the closer-in builds (nearshore) from those farther out, more accurately named offshore builds.

Any mollifying aspects of placing new arrays out of viewshed view might imply a pivotal protest point has been pacified. Nope. Along with the ongoing nearshore anti-turbine orneriness, it is quickly becoming clear that an updated anti emphasis is being placed on the fishing and marine/wildlife aspects of turbines being placed anywhere a-sea. For many, nearshore/offshore wind builds seemingly have no permissible place off N.J.

As to the federal forces energetically backing the builds, speaking ostensibly of BOEM and NOAA, they are taking something of a blame dilution route for 2024, going bigger than ever on global warming being the overriding concern. That makes strategic sense. Many of the groups supporting ocean wind power are huge on climate change considerations.

Heres a snippet from a just-released report titled BOEM and NOAA Announce Final North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy. (See boem.gov/newsroom/press-releases/boem-and-noaa-announce-final-north-atlantic-right-whale-and-offshore-wind.)

Right whales are endangered and climate change is impacting every aspect of their survival from changing ocean habitat, prey availability and affecting migratory patterns making the transition to cleaner, renewable energy critically important, said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. Working together on this strategy leverages the best available scientific information to inform offshore wind management decisions while conserving and recovering the species.

The North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy provides guidance for a coordinated effort across the federal government and with agency partners to protect and promote the recovery of North Atlantic right whales and other marine life while responsibly developing offshore wind energy to address the climate crisis.

In fairness, the above is a mere morsel of all that is included in this report, including what Ill call worthy efforts to make whale things right in advance of whale-threatening wind farms. Ill even cast some sympathy toward both BOEM and NOAA personnel since their persuasions must align with the mandates of national leaders, i.e., their paycheck signers.

The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring offshore wind energy development is done in a responsible manner, saidBOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. Thats why we have increased our efforts to develop a strategy based on the best available science that will allow us to protect the North Atlantic right whale while meeting our offshore wind goals that are necessary to curb climate change and protect the environment.

RUNDOWN: Regrettably, I must begin with a correction.

I got a not-quite-correct read regarding the very telling March 7 meeting of the N.J. Marine Fisheries Council, being held in the Stafford Township Administration Building, 260 East Bay Ave. in Manahawkin, at 5 p.m. The meeting will allow public involvement prior to the council members making a decision on fluke regs for this year. I had erroneously said it would be held in the old town hall area. Nope. It will be held in the modern town hall.

As to the regulatory routes the council will be considering for 2024, the options are now etched in granite. This comes after an ASMFC meeting last weekend in Virginia.

Garden State options have been passed onto the state council for perusal. Everything is fermenting right now, offered one council member.

The fluke options are a little too involved for me to adequately detail in here. Please check with local tackle shops, The Fisherman Magazineor the JCAA website for a read.

BTW, Ive been alerted to the bag limit option of three fish at 18 inches (or larger) with a four-day loss of season length compared to 2023.

Please keep in mind the NJMFC is also deciding the 2024 regulatory direction for black seabass and scup/porgies.

FLUKE THOUGHTS: Fluke is the most sought-after fish in N.J. with striped bass being the most targeted gamefish. Explanation forthcoming.

Numbers-wise, bass seekers cant match the number of anglers who converge on flatties during just the short summer season. Those anglers are powered by a state with one of the highest per capita boat ownership rates in the nation.

Summer flounder is the ultimate bulls eye species, though it is almost exclusively a meat fish, targeted purely for take-home potential. It is not a gamefish in the strictest sense of the word. If a moratorium were placed on the keeping of fluke, making it catch and release only, virtually nobody would go after them and bait shops would undergo a devastating summer swoon.

Relatedly, the keeper rate for legal-sized fluke is easily over 90%. In fact, the only releasing of legal-length fish comes with culling, exchanging smaller keeper fish in the tank for larger models a practice that might enhance the survivability of caught fluke, providing the live well is adequately aerated. A fluke exhausted from just being reeled in and quickly released is fodder for the likes of sharks below. A flattie rejuvenated in a tank is ready to skedaddle, damn the sharks.

In overall fishing pressure terms, striped bass is a fairly close second to fluke, being heavily sought as a gamefish in spring and more voraciously in fall. Even then, the total number of fluking rods in summer waters outdistances the rod count aimed at stripers during a lengthy spring-to-fall season. As to dedication to the catching cause, striper seekers have a lock on that. No anglers are more dogged than N.J. striperites.

jaymann@thesandpaper.net

Continued here:

Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore - The SandPaper

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore – The SandPaper

Disney’s Snow White Live-Action Remake Ignites Controversy – BNN Breaking

Posted: at 10:29 pm

Snow White Remake Stirs Controversy: Diversity or Political Correctness?

Disneys live-action remake of the classic tale Snow White is presently making headlines, not for its star-studded cast or unique interpretation, but for a controversy that has erupted over leaked set photos. These images, revealing a markedly diverse group of actors portraying the traditionally known Dwarfs, have sparked a firestorm of criticism, predominantly from conservative media figures who have taken to social media to voice their displeasure.

New set photos published by The Daily Mail, accompanied by a headline that underscored the controversy, show a varied group of actors, with only one actual dwarf among them. This unconventional depiction has drawn the ire of critics who have accused Disney of bending to political correctness and mocked the companys approach.

In response to the mounting criticism, Disney confirmed the photos originated from the set but added a caveat that they were not official images of the production. This statement was a contradictory follow-up to an initial response by Disneys U.S. spokesperson, who claimed the images were fake. The film stars Rachel Zegler in the title role and Andrew Burnap, though neither was present in the controversial photos, with stand-ins being used during filming.

Ginnifer Goodwin, known for her portrayal of Snow White in the ABC series Once Upon a Time, has shared her thoughts on the upcoming remake. She expressed confidence in Disneys ability to execute the film despite the controversy and highlighted the important role of Prince Charming in the Snow White narrative. Rachel Zegler, who is set to play Snow White in the film, also responded to the backlash surrounding her casting, suggesting the controversy is far from over.

While controversy has surrounded this Disney remake, it underscores a broader discourse on representation and diversity in the entertainment industry. As the film continues in production, audiences worldwide will no doubt watch with bated breath to see how these issues are addressed on the silver screen.

Continued here:

Disney's Snow White Live-Action Remake Ignites Controversy - BNN Breaking

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Disney’s Snow White Live-Action Remake Ignites Controversy – BNN Breaking

Political correctness is strangling comedy and with it our British sense of humour – The Telegraph

Posted: January 29, 2024 at 2:22 am

Political correctness is strangling comedy and with it our British sense of humour  The Telegraph

Go here to read the rest:

Political correctness is strangling comedy and with it our British sense of humour - The Telegraph

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Political correctness is strangling comedy and with it our British sense of humour – The Telegraph

The absurdity of political correctness – Fiji Times

Posted: at 2:22 am

We are living at a time where political correctness (PC) has turned things upside down so that many people have been forced to accept things in a certain way as the new normal.

Gone are the days when what you saw is what you said because that was the truth. When something was black, we called it black because thats the colour we saw. We did the same for red, blue and white.

But because PC has gone bonkers and just because someone may consider something offensive, we cannot say that anymore. And, being the spineless wimps that we are, we have succumbed to the tyranny of PC.

So while the object is black, we would just say its grey, dark or something. Anything but the truth. So what is this ridiculous concept called PC anyway? It is avoiding language and actions that insult, exclude or harm people who may already be experiencing (perceived or real) disadvantage and discrimination. But it has been taken to a ridiculous extreme.

Maybe some of us are getting old. Maybe we need to change with the times. But then maybe we dont. Maybe there are some values worth holding onto like honesty and telling the truth and standing our ground against stupidity.

The definition of PC I really like it is a term used for whiney overly sensitive pansies (is that too American?) who need everything sugar coated for them.

I spent almost half of my life in the US and PC there has become so absurd it boggles the mind Here are some totally inane examples of PC that will make you shake your head in disbelief and prove the stark and distressing reality of what Einstein said, Only the universe and human stupidity are infinite and I am not sure about the universe.

A college diversity-training course taught that it was culturally insensitive to expect people to be on time.

A Clemson University (in the US, where else?) training course taught its attendees that it is offensive to expect people to be on time, because time may be considered fluid in other cultures.

Maybe they should call it Fiji Time. College students decided against bringing a camel to school for a Hump Day event, due to concerns about racism. Students at the University of St.

Thomas in Minnesota were worried that the presence of a camel might offend Middle Eastern students. Journalism lecturers at Leeds Trinity University were instructed to avoid using all caps when communicating with students, because it might make them too afraid to do the assignment.

Oxford University law students (OMG, England too?) were told that they didnt have to learn about rape or violence law if they found it too triggering. Undergraduate law students were reportedly allowed to leave during any lessons about such material if they felt uncomfortable.

Evergreen State University told professors to take student protesters feelings into account when grading them.

Apparently, their emotional commitment to protesting should be taken into account when evaluating their academic work. (Apparently, grading classwork based on, you know, classwork would be too insensitive).

And the stupidity continues Someone said the two pillars of PC are willful ignorance and a steadfast refusal to face the truth. PC is destroying the very fabric of society.

Never before have people been so afraid to stand up against absurdity for the fear of being a called a homophobe, a racist or a bigot. Even a progressive organisation like Toastmasters has submitted to this idiocy.

I once participated in a speech contest and the Chief Judge told me that even though my speech would have won hands down, I was penalised because I made a derogatory religious reference.

Being taught to avoid talking about religion has led to a lack of understanding of it something most of us are so deeply entrenched in.

What we should be taught is how to have a civil conversation about a difficult topic.

I feel that if we did not have religion, everyone will live together peacefully.

My wife thinks we need religion or else people will not have a moral code of conduct. If you need religion in order to be a good person, youre intrinsically not a good person. You dont need religion to have morals.

But I digress. PC causes people to needlessly worry about offending those around them. Once we are afraid to speak out, we are afraid to think. Consequently, control of the public is achieved.

And like sheep, we submit to this most inane societal norm. My distaste for PC started when I was in high school and came across Uriah Heep, the villain in Charles Dickenss novel David Copperfield.

This slimy creep has since become a byword for a falsely humble hypocrite (like the PC advocates) who make your skin crawl. PC reminds me of this joke John was asked to watch Bobs family home while the family was on vacation, included was the dog, the cat and Bobs Grandma. After the first week, Bob called and asked how things were going.

John replied Everything is okay, except the cat died.

Bob says Couldnt you be more diplomatic? John asks What do you mean? Bob replies Well, if I ask how the cat is, say the cats on the roof then the next time, you could tell me it died

The next week, Bob calls, John answers and after a short discussion, Bob asks how his Grandma is doing. John replies Shes on the roof. George Carlin was a favorite comedian of mine.

He had no tolerance for hypocrisy. He said, Political correctness is Americas newest form of intolerance, and it is especially pernicious because it comes disguised as tolerance.

It presents itself as fairness, yet attempts to restrict and control peoples language with strict codes and rigid rules. Im not sure thats the way to fight discrimination.

Im not sure silencing people or forcing them to alter their speech is the best method for solving problems that go much deeper than speech. Is there a cure? Yes, it is to speak your mind!

Or we are doomed to the political correctness police somewhat akin to thought police George Orwells nightmarish classic, Nineteen Eighty-four. Maybe not so ominous but quite ridiculous.

Link:

The absurdity of political correctness - Fiji Times

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on The absurdity of political correctness – Fiji Times

Claudine Gay, Jimmy Lai, and the truth of things – Catholic World Report

Posted: January 20, 2024 at 6:49 am

(Image: Brett Jordan/Unsplash.com)

To my mind, the most cringe-inducing moment in the drama of Claudine Gay and her resignation as president of Harvard University was not when she whiffed at unambiguously condemning genocidal threats against Jews as violations of Harvards norms for student behavior. That was horrible, to be sure. Even more telling, though, was Gays subsequent apology, in which she expressed regret for having failed to convey what is my truth.

Hard as it may be for normal people to grasp, the notion that there is only my truth and your truth, but nothing properly describable as the truth, is virtually axiomatic in the humanities departments of American elite universities, and has been for some time. Now, following the Orwellian script in Animal Farm, the woke plague has created a situation in which some of those personal truths are deemed more equal than others truths the superior truths being the truths of political correctness.

As dean of the Harvard faculty, Claudine Gay was a vigorous proponent of the new axiom that some truths are truer than others. But in her apology, she reverted to the basic, postmodernist absurdity that truth is a matter of personal conviction rather than conviction anchored in reality. Her downfall thus illustrates another axiom, one that antedates post-modernism by almost two centuries: the Revolution devours its children (Jacques Mallet du Pan, writing from Paris 1793 as the tumbrils rolled).

When post-modernism first reared its head decades ago, some Christian thinkers suggested that its mantra of your-truth/my-truth might provide an opening to serious intellectual exchange with non-believers, which was impossible with those academic nihilists and relativists who denied that there was any truth at all. This always struck me as a forlorn hope. For what happens when there is only your truth and my truth and our truths collide? Absent any agreed horizon of judgment (call it the truth) against which we can settle our difference, either you will impose your power on me or I will impose my power on you.

Which means the death of serious conversation, of scholarship and, ultimately, of democracy.

7,494 miles away, I doubt the thought occurred to my friend Jimmy Lai; but the fact that the Claudine Gay affair coincided with the beginning of Jimmys trial on charges of having violated Chinese national security by defending the basic human rights of his fellow Hong Kongers nicely illustrated Oscar Wildes point about life imitating art including the arts of irony.

For there was President Gay, trying to save herself by an appeal to my truth, while Jimmy was risking life imprisonment at a Stalinesque show trial because he had courageously borne witness to the truth: the truth that todays Hong Kong regime is a thugocracy terrified by free speech and a free press; the truth that the Beijing regime that controls Hong Kong is comprehensively violating the commitments to honor basic human rights it had made when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997; and, perhaps above all, the truth that Catholic faith demands solidarity with those defending their God-given rights rights that express built-in truths about the inalienable dignity and infinite value of every human life.

Jimmy Lai has become a Christian artist during his three years in solitary confinement; few, if any, gifts that I have received in my life have touched me as deeply as the two sketches he has sent me from Stanley Prison. Both embody his commitment to truth not just his truth, but truth, period and his understanding that truth-telling is risky business in this world. The price of truth-telling is expressed in a crucifixion scene, rendered in colored pencil on the kind of lined paper we once used in elementary school. The commitment to live in the truth is captured in a beautiful Madonna with the simple inscription Yes! (cf. Luke 1:38).

Once asked what sentence he would wish saved if the rest of the Bible were somehow destroyed, John Paul II responded without hesitation, You will know the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:32). Jimmy Lais life and art luminously express that conviction about the liberating power of truth. We must hope and pray that Claudine Gay and the rest of the post-modern academic establishment which has turned elite American higher education into a playpen for rabid antisemites, pampered snowflakes, and madcap ideologues eventually come to understand what Jimmy understands.

Because that would set them free, spiritually as well as intellectually. Thus liberated, they could be true educators rather than enforcers of woke ideological conformity.

If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Read this article:

Claudine Gay, Jimmy Lai, and the truth of things - Catholic World Report

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Claudine Gay, Jimmy Lai, and the truth of things – Catholic World Report

Rochdale has exposed the horrors of political correctness – Spiked

Posted: at 6:49 am

Rochdale has exposed the horrors of political correctness  Spiked

View original post here:

Rochdale has exposed the horrors of political correctness - Spiked

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Rochdale has exposed the horrors of political correctness – Spiked

Michel Valentin: Political correctness and swastikas – Missoulian

Posted: November 15, 2023 at 3:01 am

Symbols are important, especially in our digital, inter-connected, high-tech civilization.

Although knowledge is supposedly at our fingertips, a motley convergence of negativism based on ignorance, intolerance, and reactionary politics, and positivism motivated by neo-puritanism, identity politics and political correctness wants to erase, destroy, and censor everything deemed controversial. To make things worse, the algorithmic, consumer-based logic governing the a-/social media helps polarize people by spreading the malevolent prejudices of partisan politics or the absolutist judgements of nave progressivism. Both force their black-and-white conclusions on an already confused public.

But sometimes, reason prevails, as the recent UMs swastika issue illustrates (Left-facing swastika symbols to remain on UM building for education, Missoulian Nov. 7). The decision to de-construct (Derridas meaning) the swastika by adding an interpretative sign next to it for those who ignore religious symbolism makes sense.

The swastika goes back to time immemorial, long before recorded Western history. Tibetan, Hinduist (God Ganesh), Persian, Basque, North American (Hopi, Navajo), and Meso-American cultures, to name only a few, used the swastika. They are literally everywhere in different forms: pictographs, pottery design, friezes, weaving patterns. Most are square and geometric; others are rounded and wave-like. Some archeologists even claim that they were Atlantis sign. Galactical symbolization, cosmic allegory, labyrinthine metaphor, life/death cycle representationWho knows?

Two kinds exist. One clockwise (swastika) symbolizing death; the other counterclockwise (sauwastika) symbolized life good fortune in Sanskrit and Japanese. Both signs had nothing to do with Nazism. Then why did Hitler choose it in 1920 as a Nazi symbol ruining its mystery for everybody? Some historians established that a strange relationship existed between Nazi ideology and European occultism. Nazis fantasized that the swastika was an Aryan symbol, sign of racial supremacy.

The right thing to do is to reclaim the sign from Nazi abuse and defacement. People who want to erase the swastikas on UM buildings mean well, but they are motivated by misguided and simplistic emotions.

During World War II, the French flag, an emblem of national unity and rallying symbol, was used both by French fascists/Nazi-collaborators and by anti-Nazi rsistants. Should the French flag then, be jettisoned? Both Neo-Nazis and Socialist Democrats fly the American flag. Should a new flag be designed? The Torah, the Bible, and the Koran are both used/abused by fundamentalist Jews, Christians and Muslims to fuel hatred. Should one ban these books?

By the same token, some Nazis loved classical music. Should it be banned? Or preceded by interpretative messages? Many great writers had fascist tendencies. Should they be banned? Remember the Heidegger controversy.

Decades ago, Rabelais, a giant of European literature, was banned from the UM Freshmen Humanities Program because Gargantuas Panurge wanted to fortify Paris medieval walls with callibistrys (vulvas). We could go on and on Everybody has reasons to be unreasonable, intolerant, irrational, and to censor (of course) the other.

Man is neither angel nor beast, and the misfortune is that he who would act the angel acts the beast. Pascal.

One really disturbing thing though, in this entire well-meaning brouhaha. Not one religious leader, faculty member, or student, ever protested, or even mentioned the demise of the Humanities (philosophy/history/foreign languages /English/religions/sociology/mathematics) at UM.

What about a plaque cemented on the brand-new Art Museum explaining what UM used to be 12 years ago, and what it has now become, after the great re-alignment/re-prioritizing complete and replete with the number of Humanities professors gone?

Lux et Veritas has become Obscuritas et Machinatio.

Michel Valentin is a retired UM professors/EPIS researcher/writer.

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

Read more from the original source:

Michel Valentin: Political correctness and swastikas - Missoulian

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Michel Valentin: Political correctness and swastikas – Missoulian

Letters to the Editor | Nov. 12, 2023 – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: at 3:01 am

Choose wisely

Congratulations to Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker. I am not a political science major, however, I believe she won the race to become Philadelphias 100th mayor based on her determination to combat the daily violence that plagues the city. Selecting the new police commissioner will be her most difficult decision. Checking off political correctness boxes must be part of the choice. She must look for someone who brings a crime-fighting strategy to the table. Someone who can work with the Fraternal Order of Police. Someone who can connect with the men and women who actually do the job, the street cops. Probably most important of all, someone who can repair the damaged morale within the Police Department, including the top brass. Unlike her predecessor, Parker must choose someone who is capable and can meet these challenges. She owes it to the people who voted for her.

William D. Markert Jr., retired, Philadelphia police captain, Warminster

An Associated Press article published by The Inquirer notes that the Group of Seven called for the unimpeded delivery of food, water, medicine, and fuel to Gazans. Such calls are invariably directed at Israel. Somehow, nobody mentions the extensive stockpiles of those very items in the terror tunnels that Hamas likely built using previous humanitarian aid extended by the West. The G7 should demand the release of the hostages, as well as the hostage supplies that Hamas is keeping for itself. Hamas is responsible for all the suffering in Gaza. It must be held accountable by the West.

Kenneth Gorelick, Wayne

We all want the bombing of Gaza to stop, but it isnt just Israel that is involved in this war. Hamas has responsibilities and choices, too. It has started a war that it cannot win. Heres a solution: Hamas surrenders. Lays down all its arms. Turns over all its war criminals all of them to the International Criminal Court, rather than to Israel. The ICC doesnt assign the death penalty, just some term of imprisonment in a European prison. The accused get taken to the Netherlands and are held while their cases are investigated and tried. There is heaps of video evidence of who did what.

The United Nations could propose this, and Hamas could accept out of humanitarian concern for the people of Gaza. Hamas isnt like ISIS. It didnt recruit from all over the Muslim world. The people in Gaza are, after all, the families, friends, and neighbors of the Hamas soldiers. Israel would stop bombing. What the U.N. and the European Union and U.S. media all refer to as innocent civilians would no longer suffer loss of life and limb, house and home. So both sides could demonstrate the depths of their humanity by ending the war.

John S. Hill, Easton, Pa.

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

More here:

Letters to the Editor | Nov. 12, 2023 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor | Nov. 12, 2023 – The Philadelphia Inquirer

How the free world can prevail – Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG

Posted: at 3:01 am

Free societies can thrive by rediscovering and acting on their strengths. Values, including those of personal responsibility, must be at the core of a revival.

After Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it appeared that the United States and Europe had one clear policy toward Russia. NATO was again united and strong. Although military supplies for Kyiv were initially lackluster, unity prevailed on sanctions and support. The Ukrainians were defending themselves bravely and Russia faced a military and propaganda disaster. A Russian defeat was considered probable.

There was hope for improvement in the Middle East and the Abraham Accords allowed a rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world, starting with the United Arab Emirates and recently joined by Saudi Arabia.

Turkey brokered a grain export deal for Ukraine, normalized its relationship with Israel and worked toward resolving conflicts in the Caucasus and Caspian regions.

Although the theocratic regime in Iran brutally crushes any internal opposition, the mullahs managed to demonstrate a semblance of softer policy toward their enemy, Saudi Arabia, brokered by China.

These developments provided pleasant illusions of a West united against Russian expansionism, a more moderate Iranian regional policy and a silver lining of peace in the Middle East. But China and Russia remained elephants in the room. A utopian hope prevailed in Washington and the European capitals that a Sino-Russian alliance could be torpedoed and that third countries such as India and others mainly in the southern hemisphere could be convinced to take a stand, primarily against Russia. A victorious alliance of good democracies against evil autocracies was proclaimed. The G7 was revitalized to lead this crusade.

The Western response started promisingly. U.S. President Joe Biden and his European allies saw themselves as the saviors of liberal democracy and good in the world. Obviously, free and independent countries must fight to remain that way. Freedom is not granted, nor is the self-determination of countries. We must strongly support the independence of nations challenged by Russian imperialism and Chinese nationalism. It is also clear that we must resist the brutal systems prevailing in Iran, Russia and China.

But is the West willing and able to fight? In theory, the ability exists.

The beautiful but somewhat naive illusions nurtured over the last two years are starting to crack. The present crisis in the Middle East is a striking example. It is not only a regional conflict but also involves the major powers. This leads to patterns that mirror other existing or developing conflicts, such as Russia on Central Europe and the Indo-Pacific arena.

Geopolitically, we do not just have a conflict between free countries and aggressive tyrannies, as we had during the Cold War. We have increasingly assertive new and important players, not fitting any categories of the prevailing narrative of authoritarian vs. democracies. But this must not be the main problem.

The West must recognize its internal weaknesses. There is first a certain arrogance and hypocrisy in the lecturing of Western values. It tends to ignore other cultures while condemning its colonial past. Ironically, this paternalism is frequently considered a new form of colonialism.

Worse still is the increasing denial of the cultural and traditional foundations of Europe. These are based on Judeo-Christian values framed by Greco-Roman philosophy and law. It is also true that these notions were and are misused. But they were the basis that allowed the development from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment to achieve todays free societies. These traditions and developments allowed liberalism, democracy, separation of religion and state as well as the rule of law. The notion of personal responsibility was at its core. Freedom can only exist based on personal responsibility (a very strong notion in Christian teaching, however, one that is frequently ignored by churches and governments) and sheltered by the rule of law.

Mainly in Europe, this important basis is increasingly denied. Any mention of God or Christianity is abhorred in politics, as we have learned in numerous debates, including those on the acts of the European Union.

This loss of real values (not the prevailing political mantraof values) and personal responsibility reveals itself as a major weakness and threat to freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is a political and institutional cancer. This loss of principles leads to overpowering technocratic structures. Institutions become ends in themselves. Political parties look for votes, rather than strive for the good of theres publica. The citizen becomes the subject of such institutions. Freedom is exchanged for an illusion of security.

The West is no longer persuasive.

The consequences are manifold. Advantageous standards that allowed the U.S. and Europe to become free and successful are overlooked. Other countries observe the decline. The West is not persuasive anymore. The biggest power, the U.S., is not able to put forth valid and convincing candidates for its highest office, while the situation in Europe is depressing and distressing. The political discussion becomes increasingly ideological as opposed to a positive debate of facts. It is also limited by the new creed of exaggerated political correctness, which, instead of avoiding hate speech, goes further and eliminates even the facts. This is a challenge to the freedom of expression. But itsecuresthe success of new parties, frequently branded as populists. They are generally marginalized by the established parties, who should instead be seriously trying to understand why large parts of the population vote for these so-called populists. In general, most voters do not participate in elections, a bad sign for the political class.

Politics has become a profession. This leads to an increasing distance between the ruling class and the people. A better exchange between politics and other professions should be achieved. The real concern is that it is mainly career politicians who sit in parliaments. They are nominated by their parties and become dependent on them. Their livelihood depends on reelection and allegiance to party doctrine. This limits their independence. Here a system of citizen-legislators would be advantageous.

To prevail, the present political system relies on a strong technocratic basis. The consequence is an oversized state that claims increasing accountability from its citizens. Excessive control and a stifling regulatory framework are dangerous steps. In this situation, the democratic system is somewhat analogous to autocratic systems. (Fortunately, in Western democracies, we can still criticize without going to jail.)

We must hope that the regenerative potential of freedom will grow in its crisis.

But what is the result when looking at the geopolitical situation and the position of the West? It really shows two spectrums: weak leadership and populism, as reelection becomes more important than accomplishment.

This is the real dilemma. The West loses its ability to be an example to the developing world. And this is the real challenge. Certainly, most countries such as India and other, mainly southern nations do not want to become dependent on Chinese Marxism. However, the West no longer presents a credible alternative with its value proposals. Demographic trends mainly favor the Global South. It would be good to support prosperous development without trying to enforce changes in culture and tradition.

Lets just take another example: the situation of Ukraine. This nation is fighting and suffering a huge toll in lives to preserve its self-determination. Rightfully, it is supported by NATO and the EU. The biggest risk for Kyiv, however, is to lose Western support. The possibility exists that weariness will grow, and weak Western leadership will feel compelled to force Ukraine into a dangerous cease-fire.

These weaknesses could result in a global loss of freedom. Autocracies and technocracies would rule globally.The Occidental culture has, however, outlived many challenges. We must hope that the regenerative potential of freedom will grow in its crisis.

For industry-specific scenarios and bespoke geopolitical intelligence,contact usand we will provide you with more information about our advisory services.

Receive insights from our experts every week in your inbox.

Read the rest here:

How the free world can prevail - Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG

Posted in Political Correctness | Comments Off on How the free world can prevail – Geopolitical Intelligence Services AG

Page 11234..1020..»