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2009 Award for Political Incorrectness:
Calling out the Liberal Lies
Climategate is not just a story of some fringe
scientists who conspired to hoodwink the public and
expand the reach of the government. Rather, the
real scandal lies in the unholy trinity that
emerged among the major institutions of society:
academia, government, and the media.
Indeed, misrepresentations and lies have become
so widespread in our world that they have become
embedded in the very meanings we ascribe to words.
Take the phrase “politically correct,”
for instance.
Many believe being PC connotes thinking and
speaking in a socially-proper manner. But the truth
is, a far more ambitious agenda lurks behind those
two innocent-sounding words.
According to the online Free Dictionary, the
real meaning of politically correct is, “Of,
relating to, or supporting broad social, political,
and educational change, especially to redress
historical injustices in matters such as race,
class, gender, and sexual orientation.”
How many Americans knew that?
Achieving a radical political transformation in
a democratic society requires the acquiescence of
large swaths of the citizenry. That can be achieved
only when free speech becomes constrained and
logical thought subverted.
Just consider how many times this past month you
murmured a soul-less “Happy Holidays”
instead of joyfully exclaiming, “Merry
Christmas”? Such is the pervasive power of
political correctness.
For all the Americans disgusted with the
Orwellian doublespeak, 2009 represented a watershed
year. Millions turned out for the Tea Parties that
swept the nation. Conservatives mounted a fevered
political renaissance.
And while the New York Times staged its grand
disappearing act, a parade of iconoclastic books
marched across the newspaper’s bestseller
list: Mark Levin (“Liberty and Tyranny”),
Ann Coulter (“Guilty”), Bernard Goldberg
(“A Slobbering Love Affair”), Michelle
Malkin (“A Culture of Corruption”), Glenn
Beck (“Arguing with Idiots”), and Sarah
Palin (“Going Rouge”).
Now isn’t that a delicious irony?
Politicians began to sense a shift in the
cultural zeitgeist, as well. When President Obama
nominated Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court in
May, Sen. Pete Sessions of Alabama derided her
“wise Latina” comments. And others
ridiculed her ill-considered claim that
“Whether born from experience or inherent
physiological or cultural differences,…our
gender and national origins may and will make a
difference in our judging.”
But the defining moment of 2009 came four months
later. It happened on the floor of the House of
Representatives during a televised speech on
healthcare reform. The claim, made by the president
of the United States, was that the new healthcare
reform proposal “would not apply to those who
are here illegally.”
That misrepresentation was more than one of the
lawmakers in the audience could stomach. “You
lie!” Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina
called out, jabbing the air with his finger, his
fervent voice carrying into the four corners of the
House chamber.
Rep. Wilson was later forced to apologize. But
he did not recant. Within days, his fund-raising
operation bulged with an infusion of millions of
dollars from around the country.
“You lie!” was the rhetorical shot
heard across the nation. It stoked the healthcare
debate, energized the citizenry, and pricked the
long-dormant liberal conscience. Above all, it
served notice that the liberal half-truths,
misrepresentations, and lies would no longer pass
unchallenged.
Congressman Wilson, you are the winner of the
2009 Award for Political Incorrectness.
* * *
Carey
Roberts probes and lampoons political correctness.
His work has been published frequently in the
Washington Times, Townhall.com, LewRockwell.com,
ifeminists.net, Intellectual Conservative, and
elsewhere. He is a staff reporter for the New Media
Network. You can contact him at E-Mail
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