Blind Objects

In the last few months, more important things have been on our minds than political correctness.

The last week has shown us, however, how deep political correctness has seeped into so many aspects of our government and public life. As the evidence continues to accumulate, those denying Major Nadal Malik Hassan’s actions at Fort Hood were motivated by his fanatical religious beliefs are finding it increasingly difficult to defend their position, as the invention of “secondary post-traumatic stress disorder” testifies.
It is clear now that Hassan was a religious radical. No one is quite sure why the FBI, or another agency, didn’t act on that information, although it appears that one reason was the fact that Hassan was a Muslim. People were afraid of offending other people, and this sort of PC-imposed lid may have lead to the tragic death of our soldiers.

AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

The irony, of course, is that in attempting to respect Hassan because of his religion, the army—and the commentators and pundits and politicians—did exactly the opposite. This is the curse of political correctness: it objectifies its “victims.” Before seeing Hassan as a loyal soldier or a disloyal soldier, they saw him as a Muslim. Before seeing him as a good psychiatrist or a bad one, they saw him as a Muslim. Before viewing him as a terrorist threat, they saw him as a Muslim. Hassan was not a person of Islamic faith, he was a protected thing, a sheltered and intentionally-ignored entity that should not be confronted, regardless of the evidence. This is not respect or sensitivity, but reduction. Hassan was reduced so much he apparently became invisible—until he shot and killed 13 Americans.

And the foundation for political correctness’ involuntary objectification of its subjects is just as disturbing: a strange and dangerous view of human nature. Many of those reporting on Hassan seem to view him as a shapeless form, a dark void of unknown troubles that suddenly found a gun. While any rigorous, credible analysis would take into account his contacts with radical Islam, much of the media clearly wants to avoid the subject.

(As an aside, it’s sad that the military and certain government agencies will be excoriated by the media for acting in the politically correct manner the media itself constantly demands of them. Those who missed or ignored signals should be held accountable, but unfortunately, those who created this environment of willful blindness will be left free to self-perpetuate in their hypocritical blather).

Lindsey Graham, admittedly speaking before much of the evidence had been reported, made a statement on Face the Nation that epitomizes this perilous view of human nature:

At the end of the day, maybe this is just about him. It's certainly not about his religion, Islam. It's not about the Army; it's not about the war. At the end of the day, I think it's going to be about him.

It is worth asking if, should Senator Graham be questioned on the importance of the Christian religion in his life, he would indeed consider it to have any affect on his person. Does his own belief in Christianity define the Senator in any way; has his faith has shaped or formed his outlook and character? One must assume the Senator would answer in the negative, for he quite assuredly asserts that in the case of Major Hassan, religion was irrelevant.

What the Senator’s lazy psychology reveals is a reluctance to confront any aspects of human nature that are uncomfortable, or that could be viewed as offensive to acknowledge. Instead of considering all the facts and making a judgment in accordance with those facts, the Senator and others have decided to let political correctness blind them to the facts. This has meant that, when met with a case like Major Hassan’s, where their folly is revealed, they must further objectify their victims, almost dehumanizing them. All the experiences, beliefs, convictions, and psychology that constitute a person are ignored, and they tell us there are no explanations for shapeless murderers like Hassan. He was just a “thing,” that suddenly went bad.

So we’ll just stand around and wait for the next shooting.