Rosie and Jimmy

We have all been following the news coverage regarding the controversial comments made by former President Jimmy Carter and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. While President Carter has tried to smooth over his comment that the Bush administration is "the worst in history," Rosie has been unapologetic for her insinuation that Americans are themselves terrorists for the deaths of innocent Iraqi citizens. I have been wondering, however, if Jimmy and Rosie represent most of us these days who are taking the lid off political correctness and saying what everyone else is feeling but reluctant to say publicly.

I remember asking our daughter while she was a student at the University of Southern California in the early '90's, "What is political correctness?" It was a term she was using in her phone conversations with me but one which had not yet made it to Arkansas. To someone who had been reared in Mississippi during the days of segregation, the concept made perfect sense to me. Why hurt someone by stereotyping or labeling a whole group of people?

Today I see that we are in a reactionary period against political correctness. The conservatives especially seem to hate the term and are intent on going back to the past in their political discourse. Even the liberals are joining them. No longer do we seek to be diplomatic with one another; we simply blurt out what we think regardless of facts, or even logical reason, to support our positions. I cannot see that this form of discourse can help solve the world's problems. We owe it to ourselves and others to be reasonable.