Political Correctness has made it “wrong” for me to have an opposing opinion, or at least voice it. Worse yet, it has empowered many to become PC police that attack anyone who voices contrary views, ruining companies, careers and friendships. This atmosphere has created an unsafe environment for vocalizing important matters, which has led to the longest period of silence by America’s majority.

The words, “…by the people and for the people…” once referenced what was good for the majority of Americans. The Senate was made up of professionals and the House was made up of commoners – Bringing all viewpoints to congress concerning important issues. Lobbyist groups now tell Congress how to vote on the bills they’ve provided, many of which were paid for by a few interested in controlling people at large.

But who’s to blame for this new form of controlling the masses?

THE JOURNALISTS

Sharyl Attkisson, an Emmy award winning investigative journalist, said the media is at fault. As a keynote speaker at the Right Online 2015, Attkisson shared how the once watch dog media has allowed the current administration to stop the proliferation of hard facts and replaced it with self-made pieces that alter the “truth.”

In her New York Times bestseller, “Stonewalled,” Attkisson describes that when the media sided with the politically correct, it was forced to drop facts from many reports. This led to the control of the media by the current administration that now limits the coverage of certain breaking stories to friendly biased reporters.

During her keynote, Attkisson shared how this led to the demise of trustworthy journalism and the reason she left the business. Today, she travels as a speaker sharing how “journalism is suffering from a crisis of it’s own making.”

THE MEDIA

After a recent interview on behalf of Amnesty International, the PC police attacked moderate Sir Patrick Stewart for his stance concerning Irish bakers who refused to put the words, “Support Gay Marriage,” on a cake. His comment during the interview was not questionable, as it brought balance to the subject.

“In my view, this particular matter was not about discrimination,” said Stewart, “but rather personal freedoms and what constitutes them, including the freedom to object. Both equality and freedom of speech are fundamental rights— and this case underscores how we need to ensure one isn’t compromised in the pursuit of the other.”

Some tried to discredit Stewart as being homophobic, but he has no issues with gay people. In fact, before the accusation, he had asked his openly gay best friend and cast mate, Sir Ian McKellen (X-Men, Lord of the Rings), to officiate his wedding to Sunny Ozell.

THE ENTERTAINERS AND EDUCATORS

Clint Eastwood was attacked publically for being politically incorrect behind the scenes. During the taping of the Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards, Eastwood introduced “San Andreas” star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with a side comment about athletes who had transitioned into acting, including “Jim Brown and Caitlyn Somebody…” This political attack was purposeful, as his side joke never made it past the editing room floor, yet was used publically by the PC police to promote its agenda.

Jerry Seinfeld and other comedians have become increasingly nervous about their future with the PC police jumping on anything that might leverage their agenda. Comedy has always risen from our pain or circumstances, but in recent years universities push so much political correctness that it stops comedians like Chris Rock and The Cable Guy from performing at those venues.

THE REAL ANSWER

It’s the people who decide if we are to show respect to those with opposing opinions or not. Our government officials have to conform to the needs of the majority when they are not silent. Our journalists must provide the facts and not bias when the majority demand it. And, for freedom of speech and humor to exist, we must allow our comedians to experiment without being judged.

The one really at fault are those who jump on the bandwagon of joining the PC police instead of standing for freedom of speech. As a communicator, I hope more people start to listen to all the arguments and not hinder any from being made. After all, had political correctness been instituted back in the 50s and 60s, we would never have learned that smoking was bad for our health.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers