We’re just over a week into the New Year, and everyone’s fingers are collectively crossed for a prosperous and bountiful twelve months ahead.
In last week’s issue, I looked into my crystal ball and made predictions for the immediate future. This week, I thought I’d share my thoughts on an ever-present topic, and my hope that it becomes less of a combative issue for us living in a Western society.
I’m talking about the overall issue of political correctness, as well as things that are labeled offensive, and so-called “social justice” measures. Actually, how about we just mix it all together and call it “societal correctness”? There, a new term has been coined.
In 2017, there were two very key incidents that almost made my blood boil; the first one was the protest-turned-riot at the University of Berkeley in California last February after right-wing figurehead Milo Yiannopoulos was set to give a speech, where students proceeded to destroy their own school campus with help from the left-wing extremist group known as 'By Any Means Necessary'. My oh my, what a telling name.
The second incident was much closer to home; in fact, it was about an hour’s drive from Outlook. If anyone follows provincial politics, they may remember the news coverage that commenced following the ridiculous antics displayed by some very anti-Saskatchewan Party protesters at a fundraising dinner in Saskatoon last April, which was held at Prairieland Park. Vehicles driven by unknowing dinner attendees were swarmed and even jumped on while trying to make their way into the venue, while protesters swung their arms and screamed their anti-government views and beliefs. It was a circus of outlandish proportions.
The people involved in both of these events would love to think that they helped "spread a message", but the truth is they failed because their over-zealous and violent actions took prominence and overshadowed any kind of point they wanted to make in the first place. The news headlines became mainly about the chaos and how these groups of people made others with similar beliefs look terrible. Any sort of intended message was buried underneath some very juvenile and outright stupid human behaviour.
Both incidents highlighted one glaring problem that we have today; if humans don’t agree with something or feel wronged by their government, we’re capable of turning to violence so quick in order to shut down any other voices, views, opinions and beliefs.
This is something I find equally disturbing and disgusting.
Views and opinions that invoke both positive and negative responses NEED to exist; to try and censor something that might make *you* uncomfortable only pulls *us* as a human race backward toward more oppressive times. We need to hear all views in order to get the full picture sometimes, and not just the ones that are the most convenient for us. Sadly, people these days no longer want to see things from both sides; they want opinion rants from anonymous nobodies on the internet that simply validate their biases, and they just want to be right. Life isn't bubble-wrapped, no matter how many helicopter parents want it to be, and people need to stop thinking that their opinions mean so much that they have the right to speak for others.
If someone on the extreme right is set to give a speech, we need to listen and then counter their views with our own; we shouldn’t set fire to a university campus. If your government is holding an event and you want your views heard, then draw up signs and hold a proper protest; just withhold all the car-jumping and spectacle-making.
If you’re offended by something or a particular viewpoint, then it makes you internalize what was said and gets you thinking about the issue at hand. It helps create a conversation and move toward better solutions. We have to stop just cutting things off at the head and silencing any kind of discussion just because it might make us feel bad or offend someone else.
Believe it or not, but it's completely possible to continue doing good in this world such as fighting for any sort of rights, providing a better life for others, or just showing respect to your fellow man without making everything solely about yourself or your supposed "hurt feelings". There's no quota for things to be offended by. If there was, I'd say it was filled up by our eggshell-walking society a very long time ago.
In 2018, I hope a lot more of us adopt a "you do you, I'll do me" motto, and that humanity keeps learning to just lighten the heck up.
For this week, that’s been the Ruttle Report.
