Political Correctness In 1984

“You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (Orwell 3). Imagine a life where your every thought is monitored. A world where every idea is judged and no unapproved thought is allowed. This was the life of the characters depicted in the film “1984” who were monitored by thought police. Comparably, this is the result of political correctness in society today. The concept of thought police, as introduced in the dystopian world of the film “1984”, has advanced in America post-9/11 in terms of political correctness, negatively impacting several aspects of human conduct found in office politics, media, and even regular lifestyles

Political correctness (PC), as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the act of being respectful to others by excluding language which is offensive to particular crowd. As a result, many claim the growing PC culture in society, which restricts several phrases, is threatening people’s right towards free speech. The first amendment ensures freedom of speech, giving American citizens the right to express their thoughts without fear of legal punishment ("freedom of speech."). However, political correctness limits this by censoring disrespectful speech. If American’s are being restrained from expressing their thoughts in society then they are not being granted free speech. On the other hand, the freedom of speech includes many restrictions as well. For instance, free speech does not include situations when people are placed into harm ("What Does Free Speech Mean?"). This would be situations such as a person falsely screaming, “Bomb!” in crowded place. Though this would not be a situation in which political correctness applies, considering you are placing people in physical danger instead of offending a certain crowd. Another example to consider is the limitation of speech in social media. People are countlessly prosecuted for posts made on their social media accounts which are not deemed politically correct. As a result, these people could be fired from their jobs or banned from

While PC culture largely impacts politics and media, it also has quite the influence in higher education and the workforce. Edward Younkins, in his article “Political Correctness Threatens Free Society”, argues how free speech is threatened by political correctness in education, the workplace and even American society. Younkins claims this change is a result of warped curricula since student are being taught value systems are subjective and based on a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, and social class. Here Younkins is using multiculturalism and political correctness to show the limitations of free speech. When a course of study in higher education is restricted by political correctness, student’s thoughts are also being restricted. Similarly, this trend can be found in the workplace, where Younkins claims, the government has discharged most free speech protections. For example, social media is becoming an increasing threat for workers. Living in the age of technology, it’s not difficult to find defamatory material of people online. Giving managers an excuse to let go of employees. Just as if we are living in a society where thought police monitor our every idea, political correctness has made it difficult for people to express their opinions, in both academics and the American