Knowles, Michael Speechless (1684510821)
'Political correctness' has taken politeness and turned it into a weapon of censorship and intimidation. How did so absurd a concept become so dangerous -- and come to dominate our public discourse?
For at least the past quarter century, political correctness has dominated American public discourse. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush blamed 'political correctness' for 'conflict and even censorship' that left 'free speech under assault in the United States.' In 2016, Donald Trump focused much of his presidential campaign on fighting the same scourge, declaring, 'Political correctness is just absolutely killing us as a country.'
Americans are confronted daily with a laundry list of words you're 'not allowed' to say-- a list that is updated constantly and without warning.
Speechless traces the history and effects of political correctness from the early twentieth century to the present and examines what this concerted manipulation of language means for the future of American culture and politics.