Assuming equity is what we want...the way to reach equity is to expand privilege to include the powerless, not to invalidate or remove privilege from those in power. I do not want to live in a world where people demand poltically correct speech at the expense of cultural authenticity. I recognize there are numerous divergent views, many of which I would find offensive, but eliminating the speech does not improve the condition of the country. If my culture is offensive, then we can have a conversation to deepen our understanding of one another. I hope that we are not so insecure as to eliminate authentic speech. If I change my language because of social pressure, but not because of my love for my neighbor it is fruitless. I hope my neighbor is confident enough to assume best intentions and share their feelings, rather than demand the adoption of language and practices, without considering my divergent opinions. Unfortunately I think fragility and conflict avoidance is steering our country into an ethical ambiguity where those with wealth have the influence to shape behavioral standards. This frightens me. No group should have a monopoly on human conduct.
What our country continues to do is force unity through legislation, no matter how beneficial, and political correctness. Pieces of sympathetic laws are glued together with the blood of American made martyrs. As a result, we maintain a weak forced peace. We are skipping steps. Our identities: sexuality, gender, sex, and race (amongst others) place us into a system of advantages and disadvantages. We are doing our fellow citizens a disservice by striving towards an ideal where the components of ourselves are independent of our future well-being and success, without acknowledging and replacing the biased systems which harm us, with equitable ones which support us. We must advance through honesty. Our country must start with truth, and until we do, we will remain broken.
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