Dying To Be Politically Correct?

Engaging A Real Enemy

We in the United States are at war. It’s not a war we ever dreamed we'd fight and certainly not one for which we knew to prepare. This war is against what may prove to be the most dangerous foe our country has ever known...political correctness.

That political correctness could infect our country's civilian culture so thoroughly is difficult to accept. But the fact that it's infected our military to an alarming extent is inconceivable. In the most necessarily cohesive body in the country, that of our military, the divisive nature of political correctness might now be considered its most dangerous enemy. It must not be allowed to spread any further. The rules of engagement are simple. Seek and destroy.

An Army psychiatrist, avowed “warrior for Allah,” declares his radical Islamic beliefs to any and all in his military community and beyond, yet political correctness prevented any action be taken. Thirteen dead and thirty injured, countless lives changed forever due to sacrificing good judgment at the alter of political correctness. This terrorist, wearing the uniform of a country which gave him freedom to pursue happiness, chose to destroy the happiness of others instead. And still many in our nation just don’t get it.

Are US soldiers, enlisted and officers alike, being coerced or even threatened with career destruction in the name of political correctness? Is there a silent directive "from the top" to turn a blind eye to treasonous behavior if that behavior is exhibited by a soldier of a certain ethnicity, race, gender or religion? Surely common sense isn't being trumped by the disease of political correctness...or is it?

Much like a patient with a serious mental disorder, political correctness may so completely infect the nervous system of today's military that it could soon drift into a permanently dysfunctional state!

How many average Americans realize just how politically correct our US military has become? Few may be aware of the fact that special awards are conferred on enlisted personnel who first must "qualify" for these awards based on race, ethnicity or gender. A simple Internet search will yield hundreds if not thousands of articles about "diversity" awards presented by active military branches, veterans organizations and even private corporations allied with the military. Diversity awards for gay and lesbians? Not yet, but stay tuned.

But if a black, white, Hispanic soldier…man or woman…achieves a level of excellence identical to ANY soldier in the military, just why should that success be attributed in any way to race, ethnicity or gender?

Suggesting a good soldier be given an award with the first qualification being race, ethnicity or gender must be viewed as condescending by any rational person. Yet how many, including the recipients of such awards, appear to view it as such? In fact, isn't being viewed first by one's race, ethnicity or gender the evil we've been fighting all along? Oddly enough, being called "A credit to your race" was considered condescending not so long ago.

Individual excellence, as well as failure, is difficult for the politically correct to measure because they judge everyone based on group identity...good or bad. Rather than preferring a "good soldier" the politically correct prefer "ethnic soldiers" or " women soldiers", good or bad being defined by group identity rather than their individual "soldierly" qualities. The politically correct never believe themselves racists, but clearly heterosexual Caucasian males need not apply for diversity awards in the military. Apparently they must be satisfied with simply being good soldiers, no special handling required.

So we're still left struggling to make sense of this disturbing trend in our country and it's military. Perhaps we might have some luck if we suspend critical thinking and approach this from the politically correct point of view...

Let’s use the US Navy as an example, arguably a trend setter for diversity in our branches of military service.

In 2004, the Navy formed a Directorate dedicated to supporting the Chief of Naval Operations' vision of expanding the Navy's “diversity initiatives”. Note the use of the word “expanding”…this has been going on for some time, folks.

Link from the official website of the US Navy:

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=13469

The following excerpt from this page bears witness to the sort of “diversity” we may never have expected from our navy:

“Seeing a direct relationship between diversity and mission readiness, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark added new focus on diversity in his Guidance for 2004. Clark expanded the traditional focus of diversity beyond race and gender, and folded in a Sailor’s creativity, culture, ethnicity, religion, skills and talents.”

I bet you thought diversity in the Navy meant “let’s send a battleship instead of an aircraft carrier” or “we’ll need a surface attack here instead of air attack” Now it might mean “Sheila may not be a top notch sailor, but I’m sure her Native American heritage will serve us well if we ever need a tracker."

While the above example may appear as ridiculous as it is demeaning, the idea that even one member of US Navy brass believes there is a “direct relationship between diversity and mission readiness”, at least as they seem to define it above, seems an odd notion. Oh sure, natural abilities or even cultural talents have been and are used in our military. The Navajo code talkers of WWII comes to mind. Even today young men who routinely hunt in rural areas are highly prized as marksmen due to their excellent firearm skills. But natural or trained abilities notwithstanding, race, ethnicity or gender shouldn't be the first qualification of a good soldier. Qualification should be the successful performance of duty.

A popular belief is that prejudice destroys equality. But does “prejudging” to promote diversity preserve equality? By refusing to recognize our soldiers as human warriors and human warriors only...regardless of race, ethnicity or gender...our military is making a costly mistake. Very simply, it may well find itself hoist by its own petard…blown up along with the very device (diversity) it attempts to incorporate into its arsenal!

Certainly from the outside it appears our Navy along with other branches of the military so fear charges of prejudice they blindly jump through politically correct hoops, apparently essential to career advancement in the modern military. Our soldiers and the country at large are caught in this foolish social experiment.

And it appears to becoming deadly foolish.

Political correctness has spread from the institutionalized epidemic in our branches of military to an even more dangerous mutation in the war on terror. It appears that prejudice against our OWN warriors in an attempt to avoid the appearance of prejudice against a vicious and deadly enemy is occurring at alarming rates. Just who do the politically correct consider the enemy? The US government bureaucracy and apparently the upper echelons of military command by all appearances are marinated in politically correct culture. Is it possible they are blind to the damage being done to the morale of our fighting forces and the security of our country? The answer to that question may be terrifying.