The Fine Line Between Political Correctness and Respect for Diversity

 The Republican debates this fall have sparked a debate about political correctness to such an extent that a search for images to reflect the idea of political correctness revealed a plethora of very upsetting quotes.  It would appear that there are many in the west who are not able to differentiate between the behaviour of someone who is politically correct and someone who is attempting to show a respect for diversity.  To complicate matters immensely, there are those who believe that to show respect for diversity has to mean to totally ignore the wishes of the majority. Since is is Christmas time, the question becomes much more complicated. Wherever you go, strangers will wish you a merry Christmas and, being the good Jewish boy that I am, I am not sure whether to just wish  them the same back or point out that I am Jewish and so I don't need to be wished a merry anything, but rather a chag sameach.  Obviously there is a lot of ignorance out there on the part of the vast majority as to what any of this is all about. It would be so much easier to continue to go on ignoring the misinformation and just pretend.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  But here is where the schools come in.  Teachers and administrators are well situated to EDUCATE everyone on the traditions of others and to make it impossible to ignore the feelings of anyone.  When I went to school, no one thought to say that we needed to make decorations for Channukah as well as Christmas nor to teach anything about Channukah. Now, it is not only important to teach about Channukah but about all the other festivals. When I was the chair of the department of Ontario Programs at Niagara, I would always send a greeting to students for Eid as well as for the High Holidays.  I would try and ensure that students took their time for whatever holiday was important to them.  The cultural roots we bring with us to our daily lives is an anchor in an otherwise complex and confusing world.  It is our duty not to be politically correct which smacks of no feeling, but respectful and appreciative of diversity showing that the values we bring to our daily lives, the cultural practices that are observed, are important because they define who we are and where we came from. We can appreciate what it means to live together but we have to also appreciate what we bring to that life together.  It is amazing how our cultural differences can inform our learning as people and when blended together, provide us with a richness that is without compare. WE need to invest a respect for the other without seeing it as a loss of something we have.  But it takes a personal commitment to do that.  It requires us to be thinking of the other and wanting to make them feel important, the same way we feel important.  When I wish friends who are non-Jewish a Merry Christmas, I want them to care enough and respect me enough to say thank you and ask how my Channukah was.  That awareness of our diversity contributes to our collective mental health and our strength as a society.