God Bless America. The land of the politically correct.
A nation at constant war. And, since it launched the War on Terror in 2001, has spent $6 trillion to kill and maim millions of innocent civilians and destroy entire nations.
Yes, politically correct America! So correct that not one politician running for national office in the 2018 midterm elections uttered a word about such a trivial issue as America’s endless murderous, costly wars.
There were much more important issues to address. Instead it was an election mostly framed on identity politics issues. And prominent among them is the five-letter hashtag marking the rapid rise of the #Metoo movement that went viral in 2017.
Alleged sexual predator Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, who was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, were indeed the trigger points to flesh out countless allegations and examples of sexual harassment, abuse and assault.
From Hollywood, to the halls of government, to corporate offices and across the media landscape, resignations, firings and public debasing took down the men who abused their power to abuse women.
But now, despite the validity of many claims and the abhorrent violations committed by many men, a one-size fits-all mindset has generalized personal experiences; bosses, co-workers or the powerful in suits become victims based on unsubstantiated allegations that fuel an environment of fear and paranoia:
- A male college professor refuses to meet with any of his female students in private, only with some third-party, college employee present.
- A seasoned male lawyer refuses to mentor a female law student intern unless she’s paired with a male intern.
- A financial consultant taking a cross-country business trip with a female co-worker asks that they sit apart on the flight.
And this past July, former U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking to students at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa told them, “Every day I read the newspaper and just think like ‘Brothers, what’s wrong with you guys? What’s wrong with us? We’re violent, we’re bullying … Men are getting on my nerves.”
With an arrogant, single about-face breath, Obama who, when as President in 2013 was denounced by feminists for complimenting the physical beauty of Kamala Harris shortly after lauding her professional achievements, took a cheap politically correct shot by denouncing the entire male gender as “violent” and “bullying.”
Welcome to “Puritan America.”
The MeToo movement is only the latest in a series of identity issues that have redirected the American psyche from one of “make love not war,” to “make war, not love.”
Fulfilling its “make war” passion, in the U.S. midterm elections, while no peace candidate was championed into office, eleven military-intelligence Democratic candidates won House seats.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
In the uptight America, at every level of discourse, freedom of expression can no longer be freely expressed. George Washington warned: “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Welcome to the slaughterhouse. As evidenced by the censorship trends imposed upon those considered politically incorrect by the social media monopolies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter who banish all voices and movements from left to right that do not adhere to their divine belief systems… what George Washington had warned is now a living reality.
What has become standard practice with America and Europe’s great trading partner, Communist China, in terms of government control of free speech across media platforms, is being embraced by western “Democracies.” (See, “Censored: A vicious trend to gag independent media,” Trends Journal, October 2018).
SEX DOESN’T SELL
As the political, cultural and social divides sharpen, so too does intolerance toward what is perceived as being sexist or otherwise socially inappropriate:
Sex Is No Longer Selling for Victoria’s Secret “Victoria’s Secret was once the trend setter in the world of women’s undergarments … Now the brand selling sexiness – or at least, a particular vision of sexiness – has lost its appeal.” – The Wall Street Journal, 19 November 2018.
From undergarments to outer garments, even beauty contests don’t want women to wear that sexy “itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini.”
In recent years both the Miss World and Miss America pageants eliminated their bathing suit competitions. After being accused of anti-feminist, the Miss America contest will now focus on the woman’s mind rather than body.
Having now become more rigid in its political correctness, the political and cultural divide in the United States has added new, powerful dimensions beyond the gender divide, splitting, dismantling and upending nearly every aspect of American life, from home, to school, to business, to media and entertainment.
On the entertainment front, proper comedy must be pristine clean, Puritan pure and politically correct.
Veteran comedian Mel Brooks said “PC culture” that prohibits offensive language or actions, particularly as it refers to race, creed or gender is killing comedy. “We have become stupidly politically correct, which is the death of comedy. Comedy has to walk a thin line, take risks,” said Brooks.
Both Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock announced they will not play colleges citing overly politically correct attitude of college audiences.
Seinfeld says “I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges. They’re so PC.” He says teens and college-aged kids don’t understand what it means to throw around certain politically-correct terms. “They just want to use these words: ‘That’s racist;’ ‘That’s sexist;’ ‘That’s prejudice,’” he said. “They don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”
Rock said he stopped doing shows at colleges because they were “too conservative.” “Not in their political views,” Rock clarified. “But in their social views and their willingness not to offend anybody. You can’t even be offensive on your way to being inoffensive.”
Verifying Seinfeld’s and Rock’s take on today’s college mentality, in December, former “SNL” writer Ninesh Patel, who was invited to perform at Columbia University’s culture SHOCK event, had his microphone cut off for “inappropriate” remarks that being “gay cannot be a choice because no one looks in the mirror and thinks this black thing is too easy; let me just add another thing to it.”
And this November, it was announced that comedy would be banned at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The hosting organization decreed that telling jokes at its annual black-tie event was prohibited. Instead, the main act will be an historian speaking on the First Amendment. TJ
TREND FORECAST
Welcome to Puritan America. Watch what you say, how you say it, where you say it, when you say it and who you say it to. And most importantly, what you think.
Major issues affecting society from the nations’ dysfunctional governments, rotted infrastructures, to the chemical laden poisonous water that will kill you if you drink it, air you can’t breathe, to dirty deals that politicians deal … are just minor matters when compared to the identity politics issues.
A nation dying of both illegal and legal drug abuse. A nation whose educational standards steadily fall when compared to other countries. A nation whose population’s health and wealth rapidly decline, are secondary to identity politics issues.
The unconscious of America is projecting its guilt over its murderous, illegal wars, deteriorating living standards, a melting middle class and a society that supports lying, corrupt political leaders by imposing Puritan standards to wash away the sins it won’t face or atone.