It is important now for me to tell you one important thing about myself. I am physically disabled and I use the aid of a wheelchair to get around. However God has allowed me to have a strong upper body; so unlike many persons whose disabilities are much more severe than mine, I am able to transfer out of my wheelchair and into a seating arrangement like a couch, or a booth at a restaurant and the food court table. I took a seat at the food-court table.
Since I wasn't using it at the time, Sara's eldest son asked me if he could take my wheelchair out for a spin while I was stationed at the table nursing my coffee. I of course said yes and reminded him to be careful of the other people in the mall as he sped down the hallway doing wheelies. However Sara chimed in with something that got my attention. She said something to the effect of:
"Just please be careful as it isn't very politically-correct for you to be riding in Ian's wheelchair."
She was saying that it may look offensive to bystanders to see a boy who clearly doesn't need a wheelchair treating a truly disabled man's wheelchair as he treats his own skateboard - as a mere toy; she feared that it may look like I am being mocked, or something like this. I instinctually spoke up:
"Good!" I said. "This city could use a little bit of political-incorrectness in its midsts."
On my way home from my day with Sara and the boys, it really dawned on me how far Western culture as a whole has fallen with regards to the relationship between feelings and facts. Now it is good that someone has a poked conscience at the sight of something that might be construed as wrong; it is not far-fetched to see how treating an aid like a wheelchair or a walker might be construed as 'mocking'. However this hyperactivity towards *feelings* has seeped into every orifice of society including many objective facts of reality. This Western culture is so obsessed with feelings that many facts are forced to the back burners, so to speak.
There was a time when one could have made a statement that they believe to be fact and thus imply that all contrary views are wrong; and they could do so without the fear of persecution. A mere 25 years ago a truth-claim would have been met with either a challenge (a counter-claim or a demand for supporting evidence) or simply being ignored, (the person simply ignores the claim and continued on their marry way believing what they want.) For an example, in an assignment that I had in the fifth grade I made the claim that Jesus Christ is God (cf. John 1:14, 8:58) and him being the only way to salvation (cf. John 14:6) to my Orthodox Jewish teacher. My assignment was to write a 3 paragraph essay on 'My Best Friend', of whom I claimed was Jesus. I got an 'A' on the assignment and a two word comment on the bottom corner of the page from my Orthodox Jewish teacher. She didn't warn me to be careful what I claim to be fact at the risk of others being offended; she didn't remind me that there are other people with contrary views; she didn't say that Jesus is God - for me - but not for many others, and so forth. She simply said: "Oh really!"
Now today, to make a claim or even an action that supposes the dichotomy of correct vs. incorrect is responded with punishment. There are many examples of this; here are three:
- In 2012 in Nova Scotia 19 year old William Swinimer was suspended from school for waring a t-shirt that proclaimed that "Life Is Wasted Without Jesus"[i].
- In 2007, 11 local Washington high school students were suspended for praying in a public area of the campus[ii]; however they were refused a private room when they tried to get a school sanctioned Christian prayer group going.
- In 2014, journalist with the The Orlando Sentinel, Lauren Roth reports about a 5 year old girl who was told not to pray over her lunch; why? ANSWER: Praying is wrong![iii]
There is of course is a way to go about doing everything. There is a right way to say to someone that they are flat-out-wrong and a wrong way, however telling someone that they are 'wrong' is not wrong; and thus implying such a claim, as I have done just now is not wrong[iv]. There is a right way to express your beliefs and a wrong way; a deeper look into the Wiliam Swinimer case shows that Swinimer's method of evangelism perhaps could have used some critiquing. And in life there are facts about things that dictate right and wrong, good and bad, etc.; and hurt feelings and or a belief in the apposing ideology doesn't change the fact that X still may be bad or good. This is a simple fact that all LGBT supporters should listen to; when someone says "homosexuality - the action - is bad" they are either going to be correct as it is objectively bad, or wrong as it is objectively either good or morally neutral; and not liking or agreeing with the proposition that they are correct doesn't negate the objective possibility that the proposition may still be correct. However in equal contrast, agreeing with a proposition doesn't mean that the proposition is true!
Political Correctness is eating away at critical thought and it has effected the objectivity of morality, as what is good is no longer 'good' but only subjectively good; and what is objectively bad is morally neutral. Political correctness demands that one should do or not do something or say something lest someone's feelings get hurt. I of course don't condone hurting people's feelings, but the truth is in some cases reality needs to be offered of which may result in bruised egos and hurt feelings.
Application:
The next time someone makes a claim that is in stark contrast with your views: A) Don't get offended; B) don't mock them; C) don't shut them down; D) challenge their claim; and E) look at the objectivity of the claim. In sum analyze the claim may it be:
- Homosexuality is wrong (or visa versa).
- Jesus is God (or visa versa).
- Salvation is only found through Jesus the son of God (cf. John 1:14, 14:6) (or visa versa).
- The universe and earth is not billions of years old but is only 6000 - 10,000 years old (or visa versa).
- God exists (or visa versa).
- Abortion on demand is *not* a woman's right (or visa versa).
_________________
[i] - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/student-s-jesus-shirt-sparks-feud-with-school-1.1280427 - access May 11, 2014
[ii] - http://www.christianpost.com/news/12-students-suspended-for-praying-at-school-26130/ - access May 12, 2014
[iii] - http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-04-07/features/os-girl-told-not-to-pray-20140407_1_school-officials-school-lunch-home-school - access May 12, 2014
[iv] - By saying "it is not wrong to tell people that they are wrong" I am telling you, if you disagree with the claim that you are wrong.
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