I was recently asked my solution preference when dealing with political correctness. Am I more likely to use the hammer or the velvet glove when people take very simple things and make them difficult, or when someone is so concerned with political correctness that they ignore common sense? My answer – the hammer. Why? Because I believe political correctness is a major bane on American society. We’re so concerned about not offending the minority that we step on the majority.
A good knock in the head with a hammer is just what this country needs. We trample the rights of the very people that make this country great. For example, if a child doesn’t want to pray or exercise any religious beliefs in school, let them read a book or just sit quietly. But don’t deny my child his right to pray and exercise his religious beliefs for fear of offending yours. If an atheist athlete wants to give the glory of his touchdown to the coach, fine, let him. But don’t deny the Christian athlete the right to kneel in the end zone and thank God for giving him the strength, skill, and ability to make the run.
Another prime example for the need of hammer versus the velvet glove is the argument of the legality of gay marriage. The whole gay and legal community is up in arms arguing with each other, trying to legalize or condemn gay marriage. A good knock in the head would allow both sides to clearly see that gay marriage is and has always been legal in all fifty states of this country. Two gay people can legally marry any time they wish as long as they are of majority age or receive permission from their parents or guardian. There is no standing law against gay marriage in any state in this union.
The real question on the table is not the legality of gay marriage – it’s the definition of marriage. If a gay man and a gay woman want to marry, they can, and it’s perfectly legal. It’s the question of two people of the same sex marrying each other that is causing the argument. This country does not recognize the marriage union of two men or two women especially when sexual intercourse is the primary motive. So why are we bogged down in this meaningless argument?
Personally, I like the hammer approach. It’s just what we need in this country from time to time. But let’s discuss it in terms of religion. The hammer may not really be a good approach when working with religious people. Christians, especially Pentecostals which is my personal religious background, are a hard-headed bunch, and often hard-hearted. And let’s face it, your church or religion isn’t the only game in town. People can go to church anywhere, not just your particular little patch of sacred ground. It’s an atmosphere of love that will keep people coming back to your church instead of going across town. If you offer a nurturing place to worship, eventually people will find the love and peace of God they desperately need in their lives.
Hammer or velvet glove? They’re both viable tools if used in the proper context. Political correctness needs a good knock in the head, but religion needs ministries that care about the people in the pew, not just the size of the offering. For this, only the velvet glove will work.
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Well, that's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed my blog. If you did, please pass my link on to your friends and family. If you've never read a Jim Laughter book, I believe you would enjoy any (and all) of them. I'd love to hear from you. See ya next time.....
Hi Dad. Perhaps a little spirited discussion?
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with some of your comments. Political correctness has run rampant and there are times when common sense takes a back seat. Listen to any human resources director drone on about absolutely anything and I think we all will agree.
However, the moral landscape has changed a lot in recent decades, and the modern person needs to be aware and respectful of those changes. Equality amongst races and sexes is absolutely necessary for a healthy society and that equality demands respectful interactions. That respect needs to be shown on an individual bases, between people; not demographics. If people treat each other with respect on an individual basis, regardless of differences in taste and lifestyle, political correctness becomes a useless topic and a non-issue. The key is to realize that there is no majority. There is no minority. There are just people.
As for prayer in schools, how far are you willing to take that line of thought? If I move to a suburb of Detroit where the majority population is Muslim, should I be OK with my kid being forced to participate in, or be compulsively exposed to, an Islamic prayer schedule? Should he face Mecca and bow to Allah?
By the same token, should the child of an atheist be forced to participate in, or compulsively be exposed to, superstitious ceremonies thrust upon him by the teacher? What if the teacher is a Young Earth Creationist, or a Scientologist, or a Wickan? Should that person have free reign to promote his views on my child? When you advocate prayer in schools, you have to remember that there are thousands of interpretations centered upon the supernatural, and to recognize one is to equally recognize all.
It is for this reason that prayer in public schools is correctly disallowed. It has no place in a pluralistic and secular society, which is exactly what the United States is. I quote the Treaty of Tripoli, as approved by President John Adams in 1797: "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." The founders of our country were fleeing a regime that forced a certain religious structure upon them. Their exclusion of faith from our founding documents is a model we should continue to emulate, lest the powerful oppress the weak.
As to gay marriage, I'm not sure I understand your position. I don't believe this country does, in fact, allow gay marriage. Some states have legislated in its favor, but the majority have not. To arbitrarily decide that one group of people can marry and another can not is unabashed bigotry. For two people in a committed relationship to legally marry in no way harms anyone else. If we are committed to equality, then people should be allowed to follow their own passions and desires, whether or not the masses share them. The legal, health-care, custodial, and tax rights and responsibilities of one group should not be curtailed just because another group gets the heeby jeebies.
So, I say keep the hammer and apply the common sense. But consider that humanity has improved itself in every measurable way as equality has become a driving social force. That equality comes at the cost of uncomfortable change felt by the outgoing population.
After all, Captain Kirk never trusted Klingons, but Captian Picard trusted one with his life. It is progress...nothing less.