One of the biggest points being made during this election have been that the United States has become too “politically correct.” So what does it mean to be politically correct? Well, according to Webster dictionary it means ”agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people.”

So, should the United States, a nation of more races and religions than any other, strive to be politically correct? Well, apparently not. According the the presumptive nominee Donald Trump the U.S has become too “politically correct” and is risking its safety as a result. Saying that police officers are afraid to do their jobs without being called racists.

Although there are no statistics to back those claims, but it should be noted that the same claim was made by the head of the F.B.I. who also had no evidence to back up his claim.

Many Americans also feel that the U.S is being driven more towards racism: the opposite direction of political correctness. Groups like Black Lives Matter and the liberal section of the Democratic Party have come out in mass outrage over the amount of African Americans currently serving sentences in prison.

One in every three African Americans will spend time in prison, a majority for lower sentences that a white person would normally get a reduced sentence for.

They have also cited the recent police and civilian killings of Trayvon Martin, a 17 years old who was shot in the head; Freddie Grey 25, who was killed in police custody; and Michael Brown, who was shot six times by a police officer in Ferguson. These cases all resulted in mass protest by African American civil rights groups.

Yet political correctness has also been about religion, because of all of the religious- backed terrorism going on around the world. Politicians in the U.S. like Ted Cruz have called for things like “Regular Police Patrols” around Muslim-dominated neighborhoods. Jeb Bush, before he dropped out of the 2016 race, also suggested that Muslims be forced to state that they are Muslim before they get on an airplane.

When asked how a police officer would be able to tell whether or not they are Muslims, he replied, “I think they’d be able to figure it out.” In this example, he was clearly embracing Trump’s ideals of no political correctness.

The fact of the matter is, the United States is a nation of almost every race, religion, and sexual preference. It would be racist to tell Muslims they have to state their religion or wear patches to show they are Muslim. There is a fine line between keeping a country safe, and segregation. Hopefully, the American people can still see the difference.

References:

http://www.politifact.com

http://www.politico.com

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Politically-Correct

http://wearemany.org/a/2014/06/changing-political-economy-of-south%C2%ADern-racism