"Cuz I am Living in a Politically Correct World, and I am a Politically Correct Girl"

The words of the title of this post are most powerful if set to the tune of Madonna's song "Material Girl." Please note right now that they are not in any way descriptive of me, but rather a girl I know from high school.

This girl, whose name shall remain unknown, shall be called 'Jane' for the purpose of this post. It should be noted from an early point that I have never particularly cared for this girl. Actually, to be blunt, Jane annoys me. She is a radical liberal who believes that because she is from a different ethnic background, she has the right to tell me what to think, feel and believe. In other words, she is a typical liberal--we will fight for free speech and your right to speak your mind as long as you share our opinion.

My earliest dealings with Jane came during the spring of my junior year in high school. Now if we think back to that time, roughly a year and a half ago, we all remember what was going on in the world. UN Resolution 1441's deadlines had come and passed. Saddam Hussein was as defiant and arrogant as ever. President Bush had spoken with world leaders. Our ambassador to the United Nations was working diligently to assure that the UN would back up the resolution which had passed unanimously. All deliberations had failed, though, and the United States was forced to turn outside of the United Nations. They assembled a 'Coalition of the Willing.' We were preparing at war.

Now this war was, as most do, came with a variety of opinions. Some, like myself, believed that this was a war far overdue and that Saddam must be dealt with. Some believed that war may be the answer, but that we should try a little more to find a peaceful means. Still others believed that war was wrong; and such was Jane.

It must be said that Jane had influence. She was an integral part of the media of Hampshire High School. She was part of the 'in-crowd.' I, though, was a lowly staff writer who had at one time held ambition to be editor, but had seen those ambitions pass and now simply wished to serve out the remainder of my time on staff. As it came time to prepare for the latest release of the paper, it was no shock that the war was on the tip of everyone's' tongues for editorials and features. Jane wrote her anti-war babble. This was nothing new to Jane. Jane was a seasoned liberal reporter, whose articles, even on the simplest of topics, always had a bit of a leftist pull. I, though, was writing my first ever editorial. I defended my President. I defended this Nation. I spoke about how we must be liberators for the Iraqi people. I did what all flag-waving President Bush supporters did. This was not unusual, nor was it surprising to anyone who knew me. When the paper was released, though, I saw that my article had been cut nearly to one third of it's original size. Across from my article, though, was an ENTIRE page devoted to Jane's work and the work of her liberal, anti-Bush friends. One page of slamming Bush. Less than one fourth of a page of defense for Bush.

This angered me, but I understood why it happened this way. Like I said earlier, I understand that liberals fight for your right to speak only if you speak in favor of them. This was fine, and I understood. This, though, is not the point of my post. It is, instead, a background for the true reason.

My true reason for writing is because I ran into Jane tonight at dinner. As I ate, I couldn't help but listen to Jane's rather large mouth as she garbled on and on. There came a point where some one brought up midgets. Yes, midgets. Now, I do not know why this topic came up, but it did. As I listened to what she said, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Jane, a member of a minority group, a liberal, a compassionate person, a politically correct 'offend no one' individual spoke of these people of lesser height as if they disgusted her. The things she said, to an extent, even made me feel uncomfortable.

I am not 'pro-midget' (if there even is such a thing). I am not a midget. I do not have midgets who are members of my family, nor do I have any midget friends. I wasn't even offended by the fact that she spoke of midgets in the fashion that she did. I was, instead, only further proved correct in the statement that has become the theme for tonight's post: 'liberals will fight for your right to speak up, as long as you say what they want you to.' This particularly applied to tonight's little speech by Jane: 'You must be politically correct. You must never say anything to hurt somebody's feelings. Don't make fun of that man because he is gay. Don't use the word retarded....Unless, that is, we deem it appropriate.' This girl, who I have been told, has repeatedly called me a racist, sexist, and classist (which is hilarious--my father is an electrician, I am hardly rich), has the nerve to sit there and make fun of midgets.

Was I surprised, no. Was I offended? Certainly not. Did I want to just stand up and beat Jane to death with her empty salad container or her little cup of yogurt? ABSOLUTELY.

You see, hypocrites are, perhaps, one of my biggest pet peeves. If you are going to be politically correct, than by all means, call me a racists, sexist, classist, or whatever other term you chose to use. Go ahead and tell me not to say "gay" with a negative connotation. Ban me from saying 'black' about an 'African-American.' Tell me not to call something retarded. I don't care, go for it. But don't tell me this stuff and then turn around and make fun of somebody because they are different. It all goes back to that old saying, "practice what you preach!!"

Todays Lesson: Ann Coulter, one of my heros, said once, "The fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives believe in God, but liberals believe they are God." This is a quotation which I use frequently because I find that it often helps articulate just about any point I want to make about liberals, whether that be a liberal stance on abortion, or the point I am about to make. The truth is, liberals, as I said earlier, follow that old saying, "do as I say, not as I do." We allow ourselves to be governed by people like this. We allow ourselves to be taught by people who hold this statement to be fundamental to how they govern us. One needs not look outside of the great state of West Virginia to see this. Bob Byrd has no problem screaming his brains out about how President Bush is an immoral liar. He has no problem lecturing us on moral and ethics. He, however, also had no problem pulling a white sheet over his face and leading a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. I honestly believe that we will NEVER hear a liberal use the word 'we' when describing a new law, or problems in the world. We'll never hear them say "we must." Why? Because if somebody like Byrd or Kerry says 'we' then suddenly they are to be held to the same level as their constituents and that, my friends, is just unacceptable.