How Democrats Can Make Political Incorrectness Great Again in the Age of Trump

“I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I’ve been challenged by so many people and I don’t, frankly, have time for total political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time, either.”
— President-elect Donald Trump, 8/6/15 FOX Republican Debate

Your friends who didn’t support Hillary Clinton assure you, when pressed, that they of course don’t agree with some of the things President-elect Donald Trump said. Well, maybe less so when regarding a ban on Muslims entering the country or a Muslim registry (Seriously? Seriously. Because we’re Americans and Americans make decisions about national security and which groups to be inclusive of based on inaccurate Skittles analogies). But some of them (and again I have to emphasize this, when pressed) will express discomfort at some of the stuff he said: A judge‘s decision (which legal experts say is totally legit) is so unfair that it can only be explained by reference to his parents being Mexican? Saying he only likes veterans who weren’t captured? The current president is maybe not legitimate? When you’re famous you can do anything, including nonconsensually kissing women (which he and many women said he did) and grabbing a woman’s pussy? Women should be evaluated, whether they be beauty pageant contestants or Carly Fiorina, on the basis of their looks? “Certain sections” of swing states were committing voter fraud on a scale to potentially effect the election? It’s fair to passionately describe illegal immigrants as generally criminals, drug dealers, and rapists, with only an aside about “some” who are good people?

Well, of course these things are terrible, they empathize. But at least he isn’t afraid to say what he thinks (at any given moment, even if it contradicts what he said earlier in the sentence). How refreshing! A leader of the free world who would say anything without fear of opprobrium! And look, the stuff he said was bad, but it wasn’t enough for them to make Donald Trump any less qualified for the White House than Clinton. Despite all the noise about some giant#nevertrump movement waiting in the wings of the GOP, a lesson I learned a long time ago is that one should never rely on a conservative to do a liberal’s job; they may make noise about how independent and differently-thinking they are, but they ultimately rally behind authority as seen in the fact that 89% of Republicans voted for him. They now defend Trump’s choice of Steve Bannon for a senior position in the White House.

So he is now the president-elect and his supporters are exuberant about the potential to stamp out political correctness. PBS quotes one such person as giving a take which I’m sure you have often heard: Political correctness “takes away your freedom of speech, pretty much. You can’t say anything.” What should the response of Democrats be to the Republicans wanting to discuss uncomfortable topics without fear of censure?

Take them up on it.

Yes, I think we should agree with them that there are certainly colleges, particularly out in California, that have engaged in ridiculously not letting conservatives speak on campus. Yes, we should be willing to not be partisan and admit such things. But now, we need to demand they get out of their comfort zones and talk about topics they too often fear putting under the microscope of objective, rigorous analysis.

Here’s a topic: Religion. Religion largely correlates with a more conservative worldview in this country. Conservatives say that they are only after the facts and they’re so sorry if their honest objective search for truth hurts your pretty widdle feelings and takes you out of your comfort zone. Okay, let’s have an honest conversation about your alleged proofs for your theologies and why you believe those religions lead to a conservative worldview. But I think it’s only fair that atheist and liberal religious perspectives be given to counteract the idea that only conservative fundamentalists can talk about religion. Let’s talk about your standard of evidence for believing what the rabbi, priest, imam, or conservative talk show host tells you. Is it peer reviewed?

And you know what, if you’re tired of kids being “brainwashed” with a “left wing agenda” in the public schools, let’s talk about your Schools. Yes, including your private fundamentalist institutions. After all, if you can complain about private “mainstream media” companies, sports organizations, or food delivery companies (e.g. Grubhub), I can talk about the sort of education I think kids ought to have in this country; an uneducated populace, as recently demonstrated, makes for a broken democracy. You value education? What do your kids think about the Confederate flag? Do they think Lincoln was a conservative? How about climate change and evolution? Why is it necessary to teach fake history and science in order to keep them in line? Why not just give them the facts? You value open-mindedness and tolerance? I want to talk about what the teachers are telling your kids in their schools. I want to discuss what your school tells your kids to do if they’re LGBT. I want to understand what they tell your kids it means if they dare disagree with your political or religious worldview and go in a different direction. I want to know what speakers and teachers come in to give an alternative perspective so they aren’t brainwashed.

I want to talk about the prevalence of conspiracy theories on the right. After all, we now have the birther-in-chief in charge of our country. Why did y’all fan the flames that allowed such things to fester? Why did you allow him to become your leader? I mean, somebody who believes whatever he reads from World Net Daily isn’t really qualified for high office, right? How can you believe such a person will fix things? Why do you have no sense of skepticism?

These are just a few examples. Are these uncomfortable conversations for you? Do you think it’s impolite to discuss such things? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to infringe on your safe space, precious. Why are you so offended because people are asking questions and disagreeing with your point of view? Maybe I could use less confrontational language, but hey, it’s certainly not disqualifying me from polite society to say such things; hell, you’d vote for me for president, right? And I’m not saying anything worse than the stuff the chief executive has said with abandon. Your being offended does not particularly concern me anymore. If you didn’t want to open up such conversations, maybe your crew shouldn’t have sent the message that you’re done with political correctness.