February 28, 2008
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Discrimination in Today's America
Political correctness is an oft-criticized concept, but unjustifiably so.
For it is based on noble ideals and has accomplished great things, such as causing us to tiptoe painstakingly to avoid offending certain people groups in myriad ways which might otherwise be natural to us (e.g. inappropriate jokes, careless comments, or silly old-fashioned ways of thinking). But sadly, in spite of today’s environment of enlightened political correctness, it seems that there is still one people group, one lifestyle which it is still okay to ridicule or prosecute.
I am speaking of course, of miners. This people group has been so maligned that the phrase “persecuted as a miner” has become a part of our national lexicon. Arguably, no other people group in America faces such open prosciutto.* Nobody screams in outrage when a sports team uses a “miner” caricature as their mascot. Our society deprives miners of many rights which we bestow upon other citizens. One would think that years of slaving away underground, breathing in coal dust (perhaps salt, diamond, or mineral ore dust, depending on the type of mine) would garner a little respect. However, in my town of Salem, Illinois, they have even gone so far as to outlaw the sale of tobacco to miners!
Yes, tobacco is evil, but we should uphold miners’ right to purchase it, as long as they don’t smoke it anywhere near a public building or me. In fact, Salem’s tobacco law is every bit as ridiculous as that law prohibiting miners from attending certain movies except in the presence of "a dolt" (which they conveniently fail to define)**. Since such laws seek to impose a certain moral code upon a specific people group, they are therefore unconstitutional. We all know that one cannot legislate morality (with arguably the possible arguable exception of our laws against murder and theft, and arguably a few other insignificant ones).
So, in summary, political-correctness has been a bright light to our nation. But it can become an even brighter shining beacon if in the future, we refine it to include treating the much-maligned miners with the same respect we accord to other (I hesitate to use the word “minorities”)... minorities (I didn’t say I wouldn’t use it, just that I hesitated, for whatever that’s worth). Hmm...maybe I should have just used “people group” again... “Minority” would seem to indicate a belittling or designation of lesser status.... Not that I think or mean to imply that “minorities” are in any way lesser--that’s not what I mean--I just mean that the term itself could be misconstrued that way, what with the very root word “miner” in it, oh dear, I mean “minor!” Aaarrgghhh!!!(-uably)
* Italian for "persecution"
** Webster's defines it as: "A blockhead; dunce."
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