W1LLLAM PHILLIPS
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persists, partly in the aura of such figures as Derrida and Foucault in the
ideological atmosphere of the politically correct movement. The tradi–
tions of Western literature and thought are being systematically decon–
structed to deny their achievements or intellectual authority. Works from
the past are whittled down to expose their bias against women, blacks,
and non-Western peoples. Shakespeare was an imperialist and colonialist,
Columbus an imperialist and colonizer, Plato and Aristotle the scions of
a slave society, et cetera.
The politically correct movement is also imbued with the idea of
relativism, with the notion of an absolute relativity. The idea is rampant
that no work can be considered better than another, or that there are
no truths we can accept. Of course, the number of absolutes - such as
that murder is evil, for example - is limited. But there are some truths
and many facts, and some ideas are more valid than others. And if literary
standards and distinctions are abolished, we're lost in an ideological ni–
hilism that borders on chaos. However, this nihilism does not seem to
prevent the politically correct from promoting certain ideas and works
over others - works that fit the prescriptions of the various components
of the politically correct movement.
It
also allows for the dismissal of
any criteria of judgment and standards associated with Western civiliza–
tion and tradition.
There is a good deal of confusion about the source of literary stan–
dards - which is further confused by political correctness. Many PCers
blatantly assert that traditional literary standards reflect the power and
political interests of various groups. There are also some politically cor–
rect academics, such as Barbara Herrnstein Smith, who seem to believe
that academics invent literary standards in conformity with their own
ideas and causes, and therefore create the curriculum.
The truth is, however, that standards in literature, as in the other
arts, are set by professionals in the field. This should not be surprising,
since standards are set by professionals in all fields - in medicine, sports,
law, even carpentry. Whether, for example, one basketball or football
player is better than another is determined not by academics or amateurs
but by professional players and coaches.
6. Open Debate
Part of the problem, to repeat, is that the PCers argue in bad faith
by concealing their true agenda and by distorting the positions of their
critics.
In
addition, they use punitive tactics against their critics by threat–
ening their status and even their jobs. They try to isolate them from their
students and from the rest of the faculty, by calling them reactionaries,
racists, and homophobes.
In
their assault on the so-called traditionalists,
as Alan Wolfe pointed out, they have the assistance of administrators,
