How many times have we sat in a Board meeting, facing a tough issue, and rather than a common-sense solution, we weigh the decision based on vague PC considerations?
When it comes to political correctness, we have met the enemy and he is us.
The last half of that line is a quote from the comic strip “Pogo,” which appeared generations ago. The reason I mention it is that I have had an epiphany on the whole notion of political correctness. Most of us disdain it, we complain publicly about it, but then it enters into our decision-making. Let me make my point.
There is no “official” office of political correctness. It comes from popular culture, as defined mostly by the mainstream media. However, there is no hard set of rules, and no real enforcement mechanism. It is mostly a set of strongly held (primarily liberal) beliefs that the acolytes of PC are willing to work harder at enforcing than most of us are willing to reject. So, we go along to get along.
In short, the effects of political correctness are really our fault, in our willingness to make decisions based on our fear of being “politically incorrect.”
How many times have we sat in a Board meeting, facing a tough issue—but rather than a common-sense solution, we weigh the decision based on “what people will think,” or “will we offend someone,” or any other host of vague PC considerations? I have sat on boards, and it definitely happens.
But what defines political correctness? Generally, it’s a set of beliefs held by very passionate, vocal minorities (in opinions) that are willing (and waiting) for them to be trespassed, so the outrage can begin. This outrage is magnified by mainstream media, thus giving it the appearance of legitimacy.
Let me add that the ambassadors of political correctness can’t wait to be outraged. They revel in it. This then seeps into our collective consciousness, and we begin to take this into our decision-making process. But what is almost universal is that most PC positions defy common sense—and it is our weakness that allows them to prevail.
So my hat is off to a Board president who will begin a discussion of a controversial decision to be made by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, we will discuss this issue in the context of our Board declarations, the law, common sense and decency. What we will not do is let notions of political correctness enter into our deliberations. We will make the right decisions based on the right reasons, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Leadership is not about being popular or well-liked; it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons. Political correctness has no place in these decisions. When you really think about it, to succumb to political correctness is, in many ways, intellectual dishonesty.
Do we feel good when we make decisions based on notions of political correctness? I doubt it.
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