"At first glance, political correctness seems like a good thing. Do we really want to go back to a world where terms like nigger, faggot, darkie, chink, and slut were bandied about, as if language had no consequences? And don’t we want a world where silly stereotypes (“blondes make good secretaries,” “nurses cannot be male”) no longer restrict our choices?

But political correctness is not really about politeness, the giving or taking of offence, or freeing us from stereotypes. That’s the cover. Political correctness is part of a culture war, the roots of which go back to the 1920s. The culture war’s full-blown manifestation is what we are witnessing today; it has been ninety years in the making."

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