LEADERSHIP STRATEGY: A CASE AGAINST POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

You can't say that...can you?

Political correctness is dampening the human spirit at work, at home, and out in the community. Life is tough enough without imposing  language filters on each other. Relying on your own sense of what’s right and wrong when making language choices is risky, but don’t let political correctness blind you from  laughing at life’s humorous side.

Three elderly gentlemen sat sunning themselves on a park bench. Conversation was opened by the eldest. “At ninety four, I’m still blessed with a good mind and excellent health…except for passing my water…plumbing isn’t what it used to be.” The group’s second in longevity responded, “I’d be in  good shape too if it wasn’t for a regularity problem.” The trio’s junior member shook his head in sympathy and said,  “before five  every morning; I wizz like a race horse and have a bowel movement that’s so regular, the nurses could set their watches by it.” “Must be wonderful to still have everything working so well,” the oldest reflected. “Not really” lamented the yongster, “I don’t wake up until seven.”

I hope you found a tad of humor in that story. Some of you will have frowned because you believe that it is politically incorrect to laugh at things people say or do to themselves and each other. Others will have felt  insulted because I alluded to bodily functions. When did it become improper to laugh at life’s ups, downs, ins, and outs? Champions of political correctness are uptight people, ready to save the world by pouncing on transgressors to their self-declared rules. Although I believe it to be true, I shouldn’t be calling them tight assed (oops, there goes another violation).

Is it my imagination, or are people not laughing as often or as hard as they used to? My girls didn’t like attending humorous movies with their  Dad because he’s been known to break into uncontrollable spasms of laughter (to their horror, it sometimes happened when the rest of the theater was deathly quiet.) What’s changed?

I recall friends and family falling off chairs, tears streaming down happy faces, or having to sit cross legged as old comedy masters like Milton Berle; Red Skelton, and Sid Caesar worked their magic.  Every performance was live and visceral. Even the entertainers didn’t know what to expect. Red Skelton took great delight in using hilarious ad lib’s to break up unsuspecting guests.  Everybody reveled in the spontaneity.

By contrast, today’s situation comedies edit content, reshoot less than perfect scenes, and superimpose canned laughter tracks to video tapes—after the show is over.  There’s something wrong when the audience needs a laughter cue. I don’t want anybody to mess with my mirth.

People who can’t laugh at themselves are incapable of laughing at life—and they hate watching others laugh at the crazy things people do.  There are trolls living under our bridges—living out their miserable lives as the gate keepers of political correctness. Stoic demeanor can be as contagious as laughter. That’s unfortunate because humor is a great shock absorber on this bumpy road called life.

Bless yourself and those around you with more belly laughs. Go ahead and let loose with a few nose snorting guffaws—and most importantly, edit using your own standards—not those of the faceless politically correct.