Amy Peet, in her Oct. 8 commentary, “Political correctness doesn’t always address facts,” makes some very good points. Some people do take the concept of political correctness too far. In other circumstances, people apply the term to anyone they wish to attack for launching an unfavorable criticism. Many conservatives, for example, toss out the term and refer to the “PC Police” whenever a fellow conservative is criticized. Yet, these so-called champions of tolerance and acceptance too often selectively apply their standards. How many of the anti-PC crowd rushed to defend the Dixie Chicks?

Another kind of PC has re-emerged: patriotic correctness. Just as it is destructive to attack people because they don’t cow to “proper” forms of speech, it is equally as craven to attack a person’s patriotism because they dare to criticize the president or the government. A prime example of patriotic correctness lies in the following line from Attorney General John Ashcroft: “To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists.”

To Ashcroft, defending civil liberties seems akin to treason. Dissent is a principle upon which our country is founded. It is 100 percent American to speak out against perceived threats to our rights. It would be nice if those who attack political correctness attacked patriotic correctness, as well.

Robin Stone

Assistant Professor

Music