An extra special serious note from THE GUYS:

Friends,

We tried extra hard to be as PC as we could when writing this post on "Being PC." If you know what we're saying??!!

We have more questions now than when we started writing on this topic. So we're putting the ball in your court. We want to hear your opinions, experiences and insights. Just keep in mind that we're all trying to figure this out and make this world work for everyone. 

We're serious…..Seriously!

Thanks so much.
THE GUYS



The Guy’s Horizon: The Future of Being PC (Politically
Correct)

These days we live in a PC world. A world where being
"Politically Correct" is vital for survival in the public eye. But has it gone
too far?

Here’s where we are now:

Stewardesses are now called Flight Attendants.

Janitors changed to Custodians to Maintenance Technicians

The Dump is now The Transfer Station.

And of course we have the untouchable subjects of
religion and race and the ever-changing terminology associated with each.

THE GUYS are completely aware that being sensitive to differences
is vital in this ever-changing world. The world IS growing smaller as
technology pulls us closer together. And of course the more populated the Earth
becomes, the more accepting and tolerant we need to become. THE GUYS believe in this and understand that being
Politically Correct is a way to make sense of this diverse world.

But having said that, where does it end? People haven’t
changed that dramatically unfortunately. They might use the correct terminology
(or not) but have their opinions changed? Does this changing terminology
actually alter people’s perceptions or harden them? Once people have left the
workplace or the shopping mall or the sports field, are they going home to
talk, speak and think like they always have? Are we respecting differences or are we becoming afraid to point out differences? Are differences a bad thing? Are we all fearful of being reprimanded in public?

Another reality of our PC world is the message we're giving to our kids. We’re telling them that the world is at their fingertips. We're saying they’ll be able to do anything they want. In some ways we're telling them they can be good at everything. But that's just not true unfortunately. So are we actually helping them by giving them this message? Are we preparing them for life's difficult trials? Don't misinterpret what we’re saying here. Parents need to
provide love and support and encouragement to their children. The parents among
us are all about providing every possible resource to allow our kids to grow
and flourish. But there are certain realities and limitations. Not all of us
were able to become everything we wanted to be. Our children won’t be able to
either. We hope they will find something they love. We hope they will commit themselves to a cause or to their family. We hope they will work hard at whatever they choose. But are we creating an illusory world that sets our kids up for failure?

So where is this all leading? Are we headed towards a
completely homogeneous society where everyone is afraid to speak his or her
mind? Is it so wrong to say someone is better than someone else at say baseball or math or dance or writing? Are we breeding more fear: fear of being judged for speaking what could
be the truth?  How DO we change people’s
perceptions? And how do we balance being direct with our children, but also not
dashing their dreams?

One thing we know that does need to happen more is face-to-face
contact. Face time with our kids. Face time for business. Settling a playground conflict ON the playground face-to-face. People
respond to other people. It’s quite simple. They change when they realize they
don’t have anything to fear from people who are different. They grow when they
realize they can learn from someone who is not like them. And often they make new friends after meeting someone face-to-face.  

So maybe we need to continue this trend and go out and greet
our neighbors. We need to smile at the people on the bus or the train. And we
need to get to know the eccentric GUY who owns the shop down the street. We
need to "Grass Roots" it because we’re stuck with each other in this
ever-changing world. Sure people say stupid things. But if we actually KNEW
them, we might judge their intent rather than what they actually said. And then
hopefully that would lead to a dialogue that helped both parties come to a
better understanding of one another. And ultimately lead to the kind of world we're trying to create.

Avoiding conflict seems to be the trend in our world. This is partly caused by everyone trying to be PC. And partly because conflict is no fun!!

Too much conflict leads to more conflict. This is war.

Too little conflict leads to pretending it's all good. This is dysfunction.

But a little conflict can  bring people closer together and help them understand one another. This is healthy. This is growth. 

So we say, bring it on. We’re ready. Let’s start a dialogue. What are your thoughts?

How are you feeling about the world and where we’re headed?

And if you're going to say something, at least say it to our Face! :)

THE GUYS

 

Tomorrow Afternoon: Question/Answer: I'm dating TWO GUYS at once. Please advise.