Saturday, March 18, 2006

RC

Does anybody remember back in about 1992 when ultra PC college students would shut down the campus for teaching Western Civ courses? You'd see them on tv in their Team Dresch tee-shirts chanting "Hey-hey! Ho-Ho! Western Civ has got to go!" and you'd feel deeply embarassed, if you were me, because half of these junior philistines were the sort who would burn Shakespeare because he was white and male. Do you remember when people had nothing better to do than try to shut down Basic Instinct? Do you remember when Allan Bloom was talking about something tangible? Most of all, do you remember when "PC Nazi" actually meant something?

All that PC stuff is so retro now, thank God. The real anti-art and anti-culture forces these days are the Religiously Correct wackos- be they Muslim, Scientologist, or Christian... it seems that nobody who has a direct line to the metaphysical isn't getting regular calls these days telling them: "You know that tv show we don't like? Well, shut it down!"

The latest RC casualty is Missouri drama teacher Wendy De Vore.

"DeVore's students were to perform Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a drama set during the 17th Century Salem witch trials.

But after a handful of Callaway Christian Church members complained about scenes in the fall musical "Grease" that showed teens smoking, drinking and kissing, Superintendent Mark Enderle told DeVore to find a more family-friendly substitute.

She chose Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a classic romantic comedy with its own dicey subject matter, including suicide, rape and losing one's virginity.

DeVore, 31, a six-year veteran teacher, said administrators told her that her annual contract might not be renewed." So, she quit.

Yep. Grease is considered Religiously Incorrect. And so is A Midsummer Night's Dream. Those plays aren't quite appropriate for five year-olds, or adults with the mentalities of five year-olds. In fact, that's pretty much the mental age we'd like you to stay at, if you don't mind. It's nicer to live in a country where everyone refuses to think at an adult level. Our culture is essentially based on the nursery school model, thank you very much.

2 comments:

SecondComingOfBast said...

It's insanity. And these are the people that complain the loudest about the lack of tolerance towards them. So we are exected then to tolerate the intolerable and the intolerant. You mentioned the old PC police, believe me they are still out there. They are just two oppossite sides of the same worthless coin.

Rufus said...

Oh, I'm sure they're still at it. But, they're going to have a hard time keeping up with the religious extremists. What with rioting over cartoons of the prophet, getting an episode of South Park pulled, and getting teachers fired, it's about time there was an anti-RC backlash to equal the anti-PC backlash.