Friday, August 17, 2012

Liberalism and Political Correctness

Liberalism is basically the idea that human society is better when people have more liberty to do what they want without the interference of the government, of other institutions, of individual people, or even of nature.
Political correctness is basically the idea that human society is better when all people have the same ability to do what they want as a way of celebrating people having more liberty to do what they want. It is inside-out liberalism. Liberalism limits people's liberty, but it is with the goal of improving liberty for other people. Political correctness limits liberty because some people do not want other people to have what they do not have. Political correctness and liberalism blend together on class politics and ethnic politics, but in sexual politics political correctness has overwhelmed liberalism. I thought the Tyler Clementi- Dharun Ravi thing was weird. Tyler Clementi asked Ravi to leave the room, where Ravi had a right to be, so that Clementi could have sex with a men many years older whom he had met on-line. Ravi's reaction was very immature, but I think he was entirely within his rights to resent this intrusion on his liberty to stay in his room. More significantly, I was surprised at the wrath and lust for vengeance thrown at him because Tyler Clementi, in his mental weakness if not actual mental disability, eventually chose to jump off a bridge afterwards, resulting in his death. On the other hand, I do understand the plausibility of Ravi's video-ing (and attempted second video-ing after Clementi asked for a second time) being a (distant) cause to Clementi's death, and I do not approve of people dying before their time, so I can accept many of the reasons behind the anger against Ravi.
The Chick-Fil-A controversy, on the other hand, seems almost insane to me. Why would there be an organized boycott of a business because of the personal opinions of its leaders? I understand not eating there personally because you do not want to enrich those leaders, but an organized boycott on the basis of personal opinions seems to be motivated more by a desire to punish people for thinking differently than you than to support people who think or are like you as a way of expanding human liberty. It is "heavy-handed" and close-minded to the idea that you can benefit from people who think differently from you. Furthermore, I understand how support for same-sex marriage is related to expanding liberty, but I think it is indirect. A government that does not recognize same-sex marriage does not automatically oppress people for practicing homosexual acts. Instead, it does not extend the same legal privileges to their relationships which happen to be incapable of the natural generation of children, to opposite sex relationships, some of which can and do generate children naturally.
I have learned that I have been denied a job moving boxes in a warehouse. My resume does not indicate a lot of especially relevant experience, but I am English-literate, numerate, moral, and fit enough for physical labor, if not to win gold medals at the Olympics.

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