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Article: Political correctness or, the perils of benevolence.(Essay)
- Article from:
- The National Interest
- Article date:
- December 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The National Interest, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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All good people agree
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They.
--Rudyard Kipling
"We and They"
THE TERM "political correctness" is such a familiar piece of moral shorthand that it is easy to forget that the phrase has been with us for only about a dozen years. "John or Mary or the University of Lagado is so PC"--it's never a compliment, but exactly what does the charge of political correctness imply? To a large extent, the familiarity of the phenomenon has bred, if not contempt, then at least an unhealthy indifference. Political correctness--the phrase and even more the idea--has had a curious and ...