There’s a reason the phrase “politically correct” has become a scornful slam.
It’s the same reason there’s a ruckus over Wichita State University’s decision to withdraw its invitation to Ivanka Trump. And it’s the same reason the New York Times editorial page editor was forced to resign.
Let’s start with the WSU brouhaha.
Certainly, Ivanka Trump is a poor choice for commencement speaker at any public school. The WSU Tech official who made the decision to invite her put politics ahead of the interests of her school. Choosing a graduation speaker who is a highly divisive political figure, and whose status is due entirely to nepotism, is — to be kinder than is warranted — not very bright.
But withdrawing an invitation once it’s made is rude and possibly unconstitutional.
If you are among those who argue that rudeness is justified in the WSU case, you are part of the problem.
And if you are among those who think the opposite, and you want someone fired for snubbing a Trump, you too are part of the problem.
The problem is this: Too many Americans are hell-bent on berating and bashing anyone who disagrees with them.
The tendency to demean and demonize political opponents is epidemic on the left and right.
Intolerance drives both sides. It’s reflected in those who cannot abide an athlete taking a knee during the national anthem and in those who are outraged that the president’s daughter was invited to deliver a graduation speech.
This intolerance makes us all dumber.
Large segments of Americans now refuse to learn anything that they don’t already believe. They refuse to expose themselves to opposing opinions and often demand those who disagree with them be fired, jailed or silenced.
To justify such demands, they claim their opponents are racists, communists, antifa, socialists, traitors or whatever.
So when the New York Times printed Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s opinion piece, in which Cotton made an illogical and unprincipled call to militarily attack American citizens, liberals didn’t just dispute his arguments. They attacked Cotton personally, and then attacked the Times for publishing the piece, and then successfully forced the resignation of editorial page editor James Bennet.
About the same time as the flaps at WSU and the New York Times, the Associated Press found itself apologizing as well.
