Political Correctness in Modern Politics

Language Culture Society and Politics during the Trump Administration
Political Correctness (PC) in Modern Politics: An Assessment of the Trump Presidency
Introduction
When Donald Trump launched his campaign for the highest seat in the land, most people – including most political analysts – did not believe he stood a chance. Here was a reality TV show host and real estate billionaire known for his brash language and liking for controversy. He simply did not fit the political mold, which, due to the constant need to balance the interests of various stakeholders and ensure that no constituency feels aggrieved, was created to enable politicians to be politically correct (PC). Yet voters seemed to like that Trump had a non-PC, no-holds-barred approach: it endeared him to millions of viewers of his TV show around the world. Perhaps most surprisingly, this inexperienced, political new-entrant ended up beating seasoned politicians – with the first surprise coming in the primaries, where he managed to clobber a total of 16 seasoned GOP candidates. Later on, he outmaneuver the Hillary Clinton political machinery and clinched the presidency. Today, he continues to confound both friend and foe. Trump’s ascent to the presidency presents a complex phenomenon that encompasses the disciplines of political science, sociology, cultural studies, media and language—for by weaving his way through these fields one can see more clearly how Trump managed to beat the odds by resisting the traditional candidate’s application of political correctness in language and using fiery, combative speech to win over the hearts and minds of his base. The Trump Presidency ultimately gives rise to the question: are we in the middle of a cultural revolt against a concept that has all along defined the world of politics –that is, political correctness? If the answer to this question is indeed yes, how did we find ourselves here and what are the consequences?
Discussion
From the onset, it is important to note that according to Mooney and Evans (2015), political correctness could be defined as the utilization of language in a way that is neither demeaning, nor discriminatory (p. 38). However, political correct language is not valued by all Americans to the same degree, for, as NPR (2016) observes, political correctness pits the concepts of inclusion as well as civility against free choice and free speech. Political correctness is essentially a liberal authoritarian approach to language and concepts that individuals on the Right view as an unconstitutional form of social control. Certain words that in the past were part of the common parlance have been deemed offensive in the new era of political correctness. Today, words like “fag” or “retard” that carried negative or insulting connotations if not literal, denotative meaning, are virtually banned in popular discourse and media. Yet in the 1980s, in the popular film Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, “fag” was a pejorative frequently used by the starring characters. Other words, related to racism or sexism under the politically correct lexicon—such as “nigger” or “bitch”—are permitted socially when used by blacks or by women but not when used by whites or by straight males. Some words are acceptable for some people but not for others in a politically correct culture. Dave Chappelle can make liberal use of the word “nigger” in his stand-up, but when Michael Richards used the word to insult hecklers during his stand-up, he was socially excoriated and driven from the business.
As a matter of fact, Donald Trump has brought this issue up in one of his past rallies. In an August 2015 ‘Meet the Press’ appearance, Trump complained that the culture of political correctness was suffocating free speech (Morini, 2020). According to Marron (2019), political correctness is responsible for an extremely restrictive socio-political environment. According to the author, prior to Trump (and to some extent even presently), it had become a norm for national interests as well as commonsense and truth to be suppressed in an attempt to promote or even advance ideals closely linked to equality and diversity. It therefore follows that as per this school of thought, political correctness not only threatens the safety and wellbeing of individual citizens, but also that of the entire nation. Marron (2019) is of the opinion that political correctness stifles self-expression. This, according to the author, is more so the case given that it enforces on us a duty to not offend other people – often at the expense of truth and honesty.
Conway (2020) is of the opinion that deep inside, people do not like being barred from expressing their deepest feelings. From this perspective, President Trump can be seen as an outlet through which deeply held ideologies are permitted to come to the fore in an otherwise linguistically and culturally repressive society. Trump has used insensitive and abrasive language by referring to third world countries as “shithole countries” and to immigrants as “thugs,” “killers” and “rapists” (Woodhouse, 2018). He has used this language to promote the idea of a border wall to eliminate illegal immigration. His political opponents—like Alexandrio Ocasio-Cortez—routinely denounce both his language and his ideas and assert the politically correct doctrine of inclusivity. Thus, when Trump uses this type of language he is appealing to the right wing portion of the nation, which lumps together political correctness with liberal politics. Trump has also included the media within his scope by calling CNN “fake news” every chance he gets and referring to the press an “enemy of the people” because the people voted him in to Office and the media seems to seek only to remove him by promoting attacks on his words, character and ideas. Trump’s approval ratings indicate he remains a top contender in his second stint for the most powerful position on the land and that his base approves of his words and the ideas they represent.
In light of this continued support for Trump, it appears that we are indeed in the middle of a cultural revolt against political correctness. Societies experience change from time to time. The present scenario is no exception – but at what cost? As it has been indicated elsewhere in this text, there are those who are convinced that political correctness is an affront on free speech and freedom of expression. This is an argument that could be advanced in support of political incorrectness. However, it is often unclear where political incorrectness ends and where hate speech starts. This discussion clearly points out that during the Trump Presidency we have seen increased instances of, and liking for (as per the Pew Research Center poll cited elsewhere in this text), political incorrectness. However, within this time, we have also witnessed increased instances of hate speech. This is a fact highlighted in a University of California San Bernardino’s Center for Hate and Extremism study. As per the findings of this particular study, there was a 12.5% increase in hate crimes reported to law enforcement officers in the year 2017 (Hart, 2010). However, it is important to note that as per the said study, the said crimes had been on an upward trend for four consecutive years prior to 2017.
Conclusion
It appears that in as far as language is concerned in political discourse, there is no holy grail. This is to say that there is no specific approach to language that will work all the time. Instead, language reflects the culture—and Trump’s language represents the culture that the Right wants to promote as opposed to the culture and politically correct language of the Left. The standards of political speech are clearly changing. As to whether this new trend in political, social, cultural and linguistic action will end in the eradication of PC language and values, only time will tell.
References
Conway, L.C. (2020). How a cultural revolt against “political correctness” helped launch Trump into the presidency. Retrieved from https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2018/02/28/how-a-cultural-revolt-against-political-correctness-helped-launch-trump-into-the-presidency/
Hart, R.P. (2020). Trump and us: What he says and why people listen. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Morini, M. (2020). Lessons from Trumps Political Communication: How to Dominate the Media Environment. Belmont, CA: Springer Nature.
Marron, M.B. (2019). Misogyny and media in the age of Trump. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (2015). Language, society and power. New York, NY: Routledge.
NPR (2016). 'Politically correct': The phrase has gone from wisdom to weapon. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/12/14/505324427/politically-correct-the-phrase-has-gone-from-wisdom-to-weapon
Travers, M. (2019). In new research, psychologists explore the upside of political incorrectness. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2019/10/09/in-new-research-psychologists-explore-the-upside-of-political-incorrectness/#7935b4c252af
Woodhouse, L. (2018). Trump’s shithole countries remark is at the center of a lawsuit to reinstate protections for immigrants. Retrieved from https://theintercept.com/2018/06/28/trump-tps-shithole-countries-lawsuit/