by Duane Kuehn

Created on: July 26, 2007

Political Correctness has not only undermined free speech, it has created a situation whereby the "liberty" of Free Speech is renegotiated into a "license" of Free Speech for select persons and groups.

Any terminology I might use has nothing to do with unfair prejudice here; it has only to do with explanation. I have nothing against homosexuals. This is merely for example, not abuse. I do, and will applaud the gay movement for its own brilliant nullification of the once diminutive and abuse term "queer".

I once had a conversation with my now departed gay uncle. He demanded that it is an unfair prejudice for people to say "f*g" (pardon my lack of political correctness please. word that I do not use because it is unfairly abusive). If a gay person can use the term but not another person, it constitutes unequal and special treatment, not equality. That one group could use a term but others could not do so, it was not politically correct for them.

Subverting "Liberty" of Free Speech to "License" of Free Speech allowed for any individual or group. This pertains to other groups as well.

I must and do applaud the gay community for their own use of "Free Speech". As the Stonewall riots were occurring, the derogative term for homosexuals was moving from "Fruit" to "Queer". As the Gay Movement came forward, they had a huge parade in California carrying signs that proclaimed, "We are Queer and We are Here".

I would like to see other groups follow such fearless actions.

In essence, they nullified the derogatory term "queer". They had simply refused to let the term "queer" offend them. It became "Politically Correct" to use and so, nobody could use it to abuse them. Simply using the "Liberty" of Free Speech to expel the "License" which some took to be Free Speech.

Constitutionally, Free Speech is a Liberty to express oneself. Never intended to be a "License" to garner unequal rights nor impinge upon the rights of others.

The current obsession for Political Correctness opens the door for "Liberty" to become "License".

Free Speech itself has never allowed for unmitigated abuse of other groups or persons. "Political Correctness", however, allows for a counter-effect. That only certain persons and groups may use certain terminologies.

This is the principal effect of Political Correctness undermining Free Speech.

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