Reading a blog post that one of my Facebook friends shared tonight was just the last straw. Because every time, this irks me like nothing else but I never talk about it. So I'm talking about it.
The Paradox of Political Correctness is what I've decided to call it. It's when those who seem to be advocating freedom of choice and tolerance and everyone's right to be right but do not respect those people who choose to disagree with them. The heartbeat of this paradox goes back to the crux of political correctness itself because it's a system doomed to fail. It would work, except that the whole message of this movement is that everyone should be free to choose, live and have whatever way they want and as soon as someone with a different opinion comes along, it collapses. The same system that adores and esteems everyones right to be right implodes as soon as it is suggested that not everyone is right. As long as everyone has a differing opinion, everyone cannot be right just as two people heading towards separate poles of the earth cannot both be heading north.
But this paradox makes itself impossible to argue with by denying that the aforementioned flaw even exists. By arguing that there is no true north and in fact, each person defines true north for themselves, it is actually attempting to make the Philosophy of Political Correctness everyone's new true north. They may argue something like, "Well the two people heading toward separate poles are actually both heading north-one is just taking the longer way around." But there must be a solid standard.
Today, it's that everyone is getting an award for simply participating because the standard was brought down so that everyone qualifies. No fatal harm done there, but tomorrow, metaphorically speaking, what will it be? Please know that I'm not saying we shouldn't value everyone or encourage people for trying their best, but the simple truth is that in a soccer game, usually one team has put the ball in the goal more than the other and they probably worked hard for it and deserve some appreciation.
Think about it with me right now. Think it through. Logically.
If we teach the thought that everyone is right and there is no absolute truth, then there is no solid code for how to live. Maybe people think that the codes we create for ourselves as a society are what we should be governed by. That kind of works for a little while, while the code of conduct set by society allows us to function moderately well alongside each other.
But what about next year? What about the year after that? And twenty years after that? I don't think we realize what atrocious things the society of the human race is capable of. I'm not going to cite the holocaust to prove my point- I've got a much better example. Me.
Just today (in one day, remember), I, an "innocent" twenty one year old woman with no criminal record or even a speeding ticket, have committed offenses which the bible tells me are adulterous, murderous and thieving, just to name three. Left to my own devices and with no solid moral compass, I may have in deed committed one, if not all of these crimes. What is going to and has stopped me? Grace. Grace that was poured out on me by a forgiving and loving God and inspires me to love as He has loved me. Grace through Jesus who opened my eyes to the fact that I was far from the truth, but forgave me.
What is the hope that we as humankind won't get so far out of hand that the anomalies of today do not become the normality of tomorrow? Where is the hope that shootings and bombings and suicides and theft won't just be things we hear about on the news, but things that we witness with our own eyes on a daily basis? Because that's where we're headed.
The hope is in truth that does not change. We need to be less afraid of offending others and more concerned with what offends God. He's where truth comes from. And whether we like it or not, that truth tells us where we're wrong and doesn't budge. That truth is the Bible. And whether we want it or not, the God who gives us this truth loves us and simply wants us to acknowledge that truth so that we can realize that compared to this unwavering truth, we are hopelessly wrong. And when we realize our hamartia, we admit it and He can save us from it. This is what He hopes for us. He hopes Himself for us. Not only that-He is our only hope.
The Paradox of Political Correctness is what I've decided to call it. It's when those who seem to be advocating freedom of choice and tolerance and everyone's right to be right but do not respect those people who choose to disagree with them. The heartbeat of this paradox goes back to the crux of political correctness itself because it's a system doomed to fail. It would work, except that the whole message of this movement is that everyone should be free to choose, live and have whatever way they want and as soon as someone with a different opinion comes along, it collapses. The same system that adores and esteems everyones right to be right implodes as soon as it is suggested that not everyone is right. As long as everyone has a differing opinion, everyone cannot be right just as two people heading towards separate poles of the earth cannot both be heading north.
But this paradox makes itself impossible to argue with by denying that the aforementioned flaw even exists. By arguing that there is no true north and in fact, each person defines true north for themselves, it is actually attempting to make the Philosophy of Political Correctness everyone's new true north. They may argue something like, "Well the two people heading toward separate poles are actually both heading north-one is just taking the longer way around." But there must be a solid standard.
Today, it's that everyone is getting an award for simply participating because the standard was brought down so that everyone qualifies. No fatal harm done there, but tomorrow, metaphorically speaking, what will it be? Please know that I'm not saying we shouldn't value everyone or encourage people for trying their best, but the simple truth is that in a soccer game, usually one team has put the ball in the goal more than the other and they probably worked hard for it and deserve some appreciation.
Think about it with me right now. Think it through. Logically.
If we teach the thought that everyone is right and there is no absolute truth, then there is no solid code for how to live. Maybe people think that the codes we create for ourselves as a society are what we should be governed by. That kind of works for a little while, while the code of conduct set by society allows us to function moderately well alongside each other.
But what about next year? What about the year after that? And twenty years after that? I don't think we realize what atrocious things the society of the human race is capable of. I'm not going to cite the holocaust to prove my point- I've got a much better example. Me.
Just today (in one day, remember), I, an "innocent" twenty one year old woman with no criminal record or even a speeding ticket, have committed offenses which the bible tells me are adulterous, murderous and thieving, just to name three. Left to my own devices and with no solid moral compass, I may have in deed committed one, if not all of these crimes. What is going to and has stopped me? Grace. Grace that was poured out on me by a forgiving and loving God and inspires me to love as He has loved me. Grace through Jesus who opened my eyes to the fact that I was far from the truth, but forgave me.
What is the hope that we as humankind won't get so far out of hand that the anomalies of today do not become the normality of tomorrow? Where is the hope that shootings and bombings and suicides and theft won't just be things we hear about on the news, but things that we witness with our own eyes on a daily basis? Because that's where we're headed.
The hope is in truth that does not change. We need to be less afraid of offending others and more concerned with what offends God. He's where truth comes from. And whether we like it or not, that truth tells us where we're wrong and doesn't budge. That truth is the Bible. And whether we want it or not, the God who gives us this truth loves us and simply wants us to acknowledge that truth so that we can realize that compared to this unwavering truth, we are hopelessly wrong. And when we realize our hamartia, we admit it and He can save us from it. This is what He hopes for us. He hopes Himself for us. Not only that-He is our only hope.