A softer shade of grey

I do not see colour, I do not see creed
Nor who has been captor or who have been freed
The gays and the lesbians, the poor and oppressed
I see none of this, and yet I am still best

Something interesting happened to me a couple of months back on the bus back from Sunnybrook, and I was reminded of this when I read an article today about McGuinty's plan to get rid of the Our Father from being recited daily in parliament.

Let's start with the McGuinty thing. Let's face it, in today's politically correct society, perhaps reciting a prayer might be "outdated." I personally don't have any problems against it, simply because I don't think reciting a religious prayer is really offensive to anyone. Firstly, it's easy enough to interpret the prayer symbolically, and what the prayer stands for (the strength to do what is right, the importance of forgiveness for self and of others, and the triumph of good) are concepts that are morally unobjectable and are common to those religious, spiritual, or secular, alike. Secondly, if it ain't broke...and no one has complained about it yet. There are a million other things to be worrying about, and wasting precious legislature time on something so trivial (no doubt McGuinty is trying to be the hero of secularism here) is just not a good use of resources.

(I also object to assumption that "what we all have in common is secular life, whether or not we are religious." This was put to me and the Peginator back in fourth year by a member of the athiest society -- totally awesome experience in an interfaith lunch -- and I think what she failed to understand was that religious people do not live secular lives, because religion permeates into all parts of life. But this is just a related point, worthy of a whole separate post, if I ever feel like it.)

Anyways, this set me off thinking about politically correctness and its place in modern society. I think it really sucks to tiptoe around things, and I don't think it helps anything either. I was describing someone in school recently and used the label "Oriental" to describe this person's race, and was quickly admonished and told that this term was offensive.

I guess if you're reading this, you know me, and you know that I'm, well, Oriental. I didn't react well to being told by the White Man that I should be offended by this, because I don't think the label is condescending (it doesn't have the same connotation as the N* word or "chink" or "paki" which should never be used to describe someone). And furthermore, I can think for myself, and don't need that patriarchal entity, the White Man, to tell me how to feel about my own culture and race, and how it should be perceived by others.

In fact, this dancing around the political correctness of this has made the entire issue offensive in its own right. Am I not capable of deciding for myself what makes me uncomfortable? Or should I just go back to building the railroads and blowing up the Rockies with nitro? The White Man does seem to always know what's best for me.

The funny thing about political correctness is that it always seems to bring our differences into the light, and that is so ironic. Because in the attempt to "level the playing field" or whatever, it points out our differences, and makes me feel as though I can't fight my own battles, and that I need someone, some Big Brother, to look after my interests for me.

And here's the big secret: I don't.

And I don't need society's political correctness to make me feel comfortable in my own skin. In fact, I find this condescending -- and instead of wasting our time looking for more palatable shades of grey between the blacks and whites of discrimination, maybe we should be focusing on the things that actually make a difference.