No Time for Political Correctness
Published in the Times - 27-Aug-12 (updated 27-Dec-13)
There has been much clucking recently about comments made by Chick-Fil-A’s CEO, Dan Cathy, in support of traditional marriage. This ruffled the feathers of liberals who sought to grill him in the media. Meanwhile, conservative patrons have rallied to the roost. Birds of a feather flock together.
(Addendum: It's interesting that you can take Phil Robertson of A&E's Duck Dynasty regarding his comments in a GQ interview & substitute him into this story & it fits perfectly, even the bird theme!)
While we desperately need to have civil public discourse about marriage and morality, it’s important to understand what has and is preventing it. To start, our culture has made a shift from valuing facts to over-valuing comfort. That is, when it gets uncomfortable or difficult to work through the facts of a given issue, it is avoided altogether. Enter political correctness - where people avoid issues because they don’t want to “offend” or be “offended” (a.k.a. be uncomfortable). To fill the void, the voices you hear come from those who are decidedly for or against the issue at hand. And when anyone in the complacent middle is drawn into the fray, the easiest thing to do is to form a position based on the sound bites without really understanding the details. When the pertinent facts are ignored and the sound bites of side-B are demonizing side-A for holding to the unpleasant truth, then it is most comfortable to move towards side-B. The situation becomes even more troublesome when the majority of the mainstream media picks up an issue and succumbs to this political correctness, disregarding the tough facts to protect ratings.
Throw political influences into the mix and things get worse. When informed discussions are neglected at large, proponents inevitably seek to push issues through political avenues and politicians eager to score support readily snatch them up. Thus, political motivation and politically correct media end up promoting only the side that will seem the most palatable to the masses who would rather skirt the issue anyway. Precious few are seeking to understand facts that the vast majority either don’t care or know about. The next thing you know, the politicians try to legislate “liberty and comfort for all”. And notice that comfort has displaced justice – the most tragic part of the problem. When facts are ignored long enough, the reality of natural consequences forces its way through. Then people are puzzled at why such “injustices” occur. Meanwhile, more legislation and programs are sought to ease the increasing discomfort that could have been avoided in the first place by simply having “uncomfortable” conversations. The result is the erosion of freedom and a country that is both paralyzed and polarized.
Our culture has been enslaved by political correctness. It’s not a crime to be uncomfortable or offended; disagreement is not the enemy. In fact, they’re all necessary parts of freedom. We effectively give up the freedom of personal decision making to politicians and the media whenever we rely upon them to sort out the details of the issues. Saint Peter said “A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” If you want to freely form decisions on the issues, then don’t be afraid to grapple with the reality of gory details. It’s a slippery slope when one’s decision making isn’t based on a foundation of truth. It’s time to talk. And it’s time to face facts even if we don’t like them. President John Adams once said “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
(Addendum: It's interesting that you can take Phil Robertson of A&E's Duck Dynasty regarding his comments in a GQ interview & substitute him into this story & it fits perfectly, even the bird theme!)
While we desperately need to have civil public discourse about marriage and morality, it’s important to understand what has and is preventing it. To start, our culture has made a shift from valuing facts to over-valuing comfort. That is, when it gets uncomfortable or difficult to work through the facts of a given issue, it is avoided altogether. Enter political correctness - where people avoid issues because they don’t want to “offend” or be “offended” (a.k.a. be uncomfortable). To fill the void, the voices you hear come from those who are decidedly for or against the issue at hand. And when anyone in the complacent middle is drawn into the fray, the easiest thing to do is to form a position based on the sound bites without really understanding the details. When the pertinent facts are ignored and the sound bites of side-B are demonizing side-A for holding to the unpleasant truth, then it is most comfortable to move towards side-B. The situation becomes even more troublesome when the majority of the mainstream media picks up an issue and succumbs to this political correctness, disregarding the tough facts to protect ratings.
Throw political influences into the mix and things get worse. When informed discussions are neglected at large, proponents inevitably seek to push issues through political avenues and politicians eager to score support readily snatch them up. Thus, political motivation and politically correct media end up promoting only the side that will seem the most palatable to the masses who would rather skirt the issue anyway. Precious few are seeking to understand facts that the vast majority either don’t care or know about. The next thing you know, the politicians try to legislate “liberty and comfort for all”. And notice that comfort has displaced justice – the most tragic part of the problem. When facts are ignored long enough, the reality of natural consequences forces its way through. Then people are puzzled at why such “injustices” occur. Meanwhile, more legislation and programs are sought to ease the increasing discomfort that could have been avoided in the first place by simply having “uncomfortable” conversations. The result is the erosion of freedom and a country that is both paralyzed and polarized.
Our culture has been enslaved by political correctness. It’s not a crime to be uncomfortable or offended; disagreement is not the enemy. In fact, they’re all necessary parts of freedom. We effectively give up the freedom of personal decision making to politicians and the media whenever we rely upon them to sort out the details of the issues. Saint Peter said “A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” If you want to freely form decisions on the issues, then don’t be afraid to grapple with the reality of gory details. It’s a slippery slope when one’s decision making isn’t based on a foundation of truth. It’s time to talk. And it’s time to face facts even if we don’t like them. President John Adams once said “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
~ The additional commentary below was not included in the original article. ~
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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak - Eccl 3.1, 4, 7
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. – Pr 29.25
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak - Eccl 3.1, 4, 7
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. – Pr 29.25
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - Jn 8.32-33
Now that we’re talking… An over-emphasis on pleasure is technically called hedonism. It isn’t necessarily limited to sensuality, but does include it. In essence, it is a mindset where pleasure is god – do whatever is the easiest & most enjoyable while avoiding or despising anything that threatens the same. This includes avoiding discussions (political correctness) about real problems with homosexuality & demonizing those who may dare disturb the peace as noted in the article at the top of this page.
While one can’t ignore the fact that a good portion of the mainstream media does intentionally want to promote certain radical liberal agendas, there are some that are simply given to political correctness & fail to deliver all the facts. And if such hedonism has left a void of facts & productive conversation, we must be careful not to fill it with insensitivity, abrasiveness & slander (Eccl 7.17-18). Nonetheless, the truth must be discussed. Below are some facts regarding the homosexual issue which are commonly over-looked due to the sort of factual negligence noted in the above article. Links to my research sources are included below & the first one in particular is insightful, so be sure to read it when you're done with this page.
Now that we’re talking… An over-emphasis on pleasure is technically called hedonism. It isn’t necessarily limited to sensuality, but does include it. In essence, it is a mindset where pleasure is god – do whatever is the easiest & most enjoyable while avoiding or despising anything that threatens the same. This includes avoiding discussions (political correctness) about real problems with homosexuality & demonizing those who may dare disturb the peace as noted in the article at the top of this page.
While one can’t ignore the fact that a good portion of the mainstream media does intentionally want to promote certain radical liberal agendas, there are some that are simply given to political correctness & fail to deliver all the facts. And if such hedonism has left a void of facts & productive conversation, we must be careful not to fill it with insensitivity, abrasiveness & slander (Eccl 7.17-18). Nonetheless, the truth must be discussed. Below are some facts regarding the homosexual issue which are commonly over-looked due to the sort of factual negligence noted in the above article. Links to my research sources are included below & the first one in particular is insightful, so be sure to read it when you're done with this page.
- All people are created in God’s image & are therefore worthy of being treated with dignity & respect, regardless of what they believe, do or say (Gen 1.26).
- Something is morally wrong (sin) because it violates God’s character & moral law (1 Jn 3.4).
- All sin is equally grievous to God, including pride, lying, hating, etc. (Jas 2.10).
- All people have sinned against God including me & you (Eccl 7.20, Rom 3.23, 1 Jn 1.8).
- When we sin, we open ourselves up to the consequences that God was lovingly guarding us from with His law (Pr 16.25, 19.3, Gal 6.8).
- Any sexual activity outside of marriage, including lust, is sin (Heb 13.4, Mt 5.27-28, 1 Cor 6.9-10).
- Jesus held to marriage defined as 1 man & 1 woman (Mt 19.3-5).
- Homosexuality is sin; not natural or genetic (Rom 1.24-25, 26-27, 1 Cor 6.9-10, Lev 18.22).
- Homosexuals do have real feelings, attractions & tendencies [1].
- People should not always act on their feelings – i.e. If I’m angry at someone, I shouldn’t hit them; If I want something, I shouldn’t steal it; If I lust after someone, I shouldn’t violate them, etc.
- Homosexuality is a reversible moral choice (1 Cor 6.9-10, 11, emphasis on v.11) & is evidenced by many who have switched in & out of such lifestyles.
- GLBT (sometimes LGBT) stands for Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Trans-sexual. The politically correct culture has reduced it to this more palatable acronym, but this group is purely characterized by their aberrant moral beliefs about sexuality & subsequent behavior.
- To move away from the idea of a behavioral choice, pop terminology has shifted from calling it homosexuality to sexual preference to sexual orientation to sexual identity & finally, GLBT.
- GLBT lifestyles are not the same as legitimate protected classes such as biological gender, skin color, ethnicity, age or disability which are not chosen and are ultimately unchangeable (unlike behavioral choices).
- Because this is a moral choice based upon personal beliefs, governmental laws & corporate policies must avoid advocating or promoting the homosexual agenda because it will necessarily threaten the consciences & religious liberty of others [4]. This is because the GLBT agenda has a religious morality of its own based on its own set of moral beliefs regarding sexuality.
- In the political realm, liberals have used the homosexual agenda as a weapon to wield against political opponents & trap them in their responses (It's like answering the question: Have you stopped beating your spouse?). Obviously, very few truly understand the issues discussed here.
- Many studies [1] show that the majority of homosexuals come from broken homes &/or had disengaged, absent or abusive fathers. Therefore, security & parental acceptance, especially by the father, were non-existent.
- Homosexuality & acceptance thereof is symptomatic of a culture riddled with broken families where the conventional family structure is no longer understood or valued because it wasn’t adequately modeled.
- Some natural consequences are revealed in a CDC study [2] which found the rate of new HIV diagnoses among gay & bisexual men is more than 44 times that of other men; & the rate of syphilis among them is more than 46 times that of other men and more than 71 times that of women.
- A pro-GLBT medical organization warns that due to hormone drug “treatment”, transgender people are at high risk of blood clotting, blood pressure issues, liver damage, heart attack, stroke & cardiovascular disease.
- Multiple unbiased international studies [3] indicate that GLBT individuals possess significantly higher rates of major depression, anxiety, substance abuse, substance dependence & suicide - even in cultures highly accepting of their lifestyles.
Then there are supernatural consequences for all sin – being eternally cut off from God. The slightest blemish of sin keeps us from ever being accepted by a pure & holy God. Since we’re all sinners, if left to ourselves, none of us would make it to heaven. Fortunately, God loves us too much. He did something unbelievable. God, the perfect Father, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to come & live the perfect life that we never could. But then He was killed – brutally crucified on a cross – though He did nothing wrong. It was why He came – to take the punishment for our sin. This was the only way to satisfy God’s justice so that we could be forgiven.
It’s not a universal “get out of jail free” card applied to everyone. It requires only 1 thing – trust. You must trust that when Christ died, He was punished for all your sins; and that His perfect life alone can qualify your for heaven. There’s nothing we can add – we don’t need to. Once we put our full faith & trust in Him, He says our sins are washed away - forgiven forever.
We don’t need to clean ourselves up – we can’t anyway. When we trust Christ, God accepts us just as we are & adopts us as His own. He clothes us in Christ’s perfect righteousness. And while we may still struggle with sin, He’s able to help us & is faithful & just to forgive us because Christ has paid the full penalty. Then the rest of our lives we can spend knowing God more & trusting wherever He takes us. Have your sins been forgiven? Have you put your trust in Christ? What are you waiting for?
It’s not a universal “get out of jail free” card applied to everyone. It requires only 1 thing – trust. You must trust that when Christ died, He was punished for all your sins; and that His perfect life alone can qualify your for heaven. There’s nothing we can add – we don’t need to. Once we put our full faith & trust in Him, He says our sins are washed away - forgiven forever.
We don’t need to clean ourselves up – we can’t anyway. When we trust Christ, God accepts us just as we are & adopts us as His own. He clothes us in Christ’s perfect righteousness. And while we may still struggle with sin, He’s able to help us & is faithful & just to forgive us because Christ has paid the full penalty. Then the rest of our lives we can spend knowing God more & trusting wherever He takes us. Have your sins been forgiven? Have you put your trust in Christ? What are you waiting for?
Related Pages
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Research Sources
[1a] Homosexuality 101: What Every Therapist, Parent, And Homosexual Should Know,
[1b] Father Hunger & Homosexuality, [2] Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Study (Mar 2010), Archives of Sexual Behavior: [3a] de Graaf, Sandfort & ten Have (June 2006); American Journal of Public Health: [3b] Gilman, Cochran, Mays, Hughes, Ostrow & Kessler (Apr. 2000), [3c] Russell & Joyner (Aug. 2001), [3d] Skegg, Nada-Raja, Dickson, Paul & Williams (Mar. 2003); Archives of General Psychiatry: [3e] Herrell, Goldberg, True, Ramakrishnan, Lyons, Eisen & Tsuang (Oct. 1999), [3f] Fergusson, Horwood & Beautrais (Oct. 1999). |