It is stupid to compare politicla correctness to the rules of a religion

1) Definition of PC"The principle of political correctness (PC) is that by controlling language people's thinking can be aligned with a desired ideology. Political correctness in the modern context is defined as: conformity to a body of liberal or radical opinion on social matters, characterized by the advocacy of approved views and the rejection of language and behaviour considered discriminatory or offensive"When you take a definition of Political Correctness that DIDNT come from before 1998, the definition of it is:"Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation." http://www.thefreedictionary.com...If you consult the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of Political correctness is "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"http://www.merriam-webster.com...So your claim that Political correctness is defined as something meant to encourage people to lean more liberal on social issues is blatant cherry-picking of the definition of what 'Political Correctness' means..... To be politically correct begins and ends with not using language and terms that are offensive and derogatory towards others..... Thats all it is2) PC comparison to Religion"PC has been around for a long time, especially in association with religion. Prof. Hughes, in his academic study of the history of PC, emphasizes the comparison: Puritanism ... has considerable and enduring relevance to political correctness, since it encapsulates strictness in morality with a Pharisaic attitude of being “holier than thou,”Clearly Prof. Hughes is giving a horrendously biased perception of what it means to be politically correct...... People dont act politically correct to emphasize a strictly uphelp morality or to think they are better then other people.... People act and talk politically correct because they dont want to offend people or look like an insensitive idiot....."Orwell's novel 1984 introduced many people to the concept of language controlling thought and action through newspeak"Using language to control thought and action only works though when the government is heavily involved in enforcing people to use the language in question to control all of their thoughts and actions and punishing those who dissent from using it, and that is not true with the US and political correctness 3) Political correctness 'restricts personal freedom'"Ordinary restrictions on personal freedom include laws against violent crime"Roy..... People dont have and never have had the personal freedom to commit violent crimes...... Try again"the enforcement of contracts"Enforcing contracts literally has nothing to do with political correctness though. "and mundane things like traffic codes"Do you have any actual EVIDENCE to back up these ludicrous claims by any chance? Traffic codes are not enforced nor were implemented by the use of language meant to not be insensitive or hateful to others..... There is absolutely no connection between the two. 4) The 'rules' of Political Correctness"Is it okay for a leftist to tell racist or sexist jokes, fail to recycle, have no concern for global warming, and oppose welfare programs? No, it is not acceptable."Of course its acceptable.... Just because someone claims to be leftist it doesnt mean that they have to gear their entire lives and lifestyle to mirror their political views..... Thats as stupid as claiming that its wrong for a rightist to advocate for more gun freedoms even though he does not own a gun..... People arent enslaved to their political views where they absolutely and always have to practice everything they preach. " recycling aluminum and lead are perfectly sensible rules, while recycling glass bottles and banning Styrofoam are purely quasi-religious symbolism"So it makes sense for you that people should recycles aluminum and lead...... but if they recycle glass bottles, then THAT is quasi-religious symbolism? Youre not even making any sense anymore, youre just drawing all of these arbitrary lines between right and wrong based on no evidence or reason at all, and youre acting like everyone feels this way too and that this is all common knowledge....."The war over political correctness in speech was fought the 80s and 90s, and the people favoring free speech lost"Do you have any evidence for this or is this all still unsubstantiated babble that isnt worth even correcting?"Political correctness has now moved to enforcing behavior: requirements for recycling, bans or punishments for smoking, outlawing ordinary light bulbs, banning dissenting speakers on college campuses, enforcement of academic speech codes, and so forth."Recycling, smoking, and light bulbs dont have a single thing to do with the use of safe language Roy. 5) The rules are 'written down'"There are large numbers of PC style guides from states and agencies"Claiming there are large numbers of these guides and then only listing one thing from 2007 that cant even be investigated or clicked on doesnt substantiate the claim that there are rules of political correctness.... Political correctness itself is by definition the use of language meant to not accidentally be offensive or insensitive to someone else.... Listing examples of politically correct words to substitute over more inflammatory ones are just examples of the definition, they are not a code of laws that are enforced or preached. 6) 'Political correctness dictates behavior'" I only claimed that the rules of behavior prescribed by political correctness mirrored rules of behavior characteristic of religions."No you didnt.... Your quote in question stated: "I think you overlook the extraordinary limitations the left wants to impose on personal freedom. This is embodied in the elaborate rules of political correctness, which match the rules of any religion"You flat out stated that the rules of political correctness match the rules of any religion, you in no way specified that you were referring ONLY to rules of behavior between the two of them......7) Everyone 'knows' the rules of Political Correctness"Identify the PC term in each pair"Again Roy, there is a difference between examples of being Politically Correct and what the alleged 'rules' of Political Correctness actually are....."PC is a code of orthodoxy given by an elite that governs speech and behavior, mirroring religion." - 1 - Political correctness was not something given by 'an elite', its a fad that caught on by people who didnt want to use language that could be insensitive to others - 2 - It does not govern one's speech or behavior since being Politically Correct is entirely voluntary with no punishments given to those who choose to not use it - 3 - The rules of religion regulate more then just speech and behavior, they also regulate who you should worship, how you should worship, when you should worship, what you can and cant do on certain days, what you should believe in, how you should and shouldnt live your life, etc.