t occurs to me that most of the problems that political correctness seeks to solve through de facto censorship have rational solutions. And these solutions are much more in spirit of American constitution – as well as in spirit of academic inquiry – than political correctness.
Wrong ideas are not meant to be suppressed; they are meant to be met either with better ideas or solid refutations. In this essay I will give solid refutations to many of the claims that political correctness seeks to solve with de facto censorship.
If someone is a neo-Nazi or a Jew-hater, then his claims should be addressed with pure reason. If, as he claims, Jews were in control, and if, as he claims, Jews were evil, then he would be facing a firing squad. That he is instead free to spread his nonsense shows that either the Jews or not in control, or that Jews are so good that they would even let live a person who wishes them dead. Or both at once.
If someone claims that women are stupid or evil, or that women belong in the house, or that women are sluts or bitches or whores, then he should be reminded of all the great women in history. This includes, but is not limited, to: Queen Elizabeth I of England who turned England from a feudal backwater to the world's greatest civilization; Queen Mary Medici of Italy who inaugurated the Italian Renaissance; Marie Curie, Hedy Lamar, Sandy Lerner, and any number of others who made great contributions in science and technology; the Hollywood stars such as Jane Fonda and Judy Garland and Olympic athletes such as Sarah Hughes; the female writers such as Harriet Stowe and Harper Lee; and of course the brilliant female political leaders such as Angela Merkel, Golda Meir, Michele Bachelet and Hillary Clinton.
If someone claims that black people are inferior, then the solution is as above. It is to remind people of all the great black people, such as George Washington Carver, Louis Armstrong, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Mohammad Ali.
For all of the wrongful claims out there, there are rational refutations. The academia, which is supposed to espouse reason, needs to make these rational refutations instead of practicing de facto censorship. The same must be the case outside the academia.
There is absolutely no need for political correctness. There is a need for real knowledge and real reason.