I’ll bet most of us have seen “Politically Incorrect” on ABC. I think the thing I like the most about that show is its name. By its title, it denounces one of the concepts I most despise – the idea that there is one agenda that dictates to society how to think and what to believe.

The reasons account for my liking of the host of that show, comedian Bill Maher, as well as similar-minded people like Bill O’Reilly, host of “The O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News channel. No, I’m not just partial to guys named Bill, just to guys who say what they think without pandering to the seemingly all-important god of political correctness.

But here’s the caveat – my liking for these two characters does not have anything to do with my agreement (or lack thereof) with their opinions on different issues. Nor does it have to do with either individual being liberal or conservative. Actually, I disagree with both more often than not. But I admire and respect their willingness to openly say what they believe.

My disdain for political correctness exists on numerous levels, starting with the fact that it tends to be patronizing in nature. It is simply a pre-fabricated set of opinions and beliefs that essentially eliminates individuality. It involves a “rage against the machine” in order to defeat an imaginary foe, some fabled oppressive overlord. In reality ,however, “the machine,” as it were, is in fact the PC machine. And it is very unforgiving in its disapproval of people who rebel against it. When someone running for President of the United States is using the term “compassionate conservative,” something is wrong with the picture.

Certainly, the damaging effect of this behavior is most visible in anything and everything related to women. The culture of political correctness has nurtured an enormous double standard in relation to women’s role in society.

For instance, it’s PC to say that a pregnant woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to have a child. If she doesn’t, she can unilaterally decide to abort it. If she does, only then does the father become involved, by way of child support. It is politically correct for a woman to go to college and embark on a jet-setting career.

But if the same woman decides to become a stay-at-home mom, she will likely be written off as having bowed to patriarchal society values. Being a college-age male, one of my personal favorites is the legal aspect of date rape laws. In my understanding, if a man and a woman are both inebriated and they sleep together, the woman can wake up in the morning and claim date rape.

Even though they are both drunk, the fault lies with the man for no other recognizable reason than the fact that he is male. In essence, all things being equal, it is PC to blame the man, disregarding any contribution the woman may have had. This suggests that by being male, he is somehow more in control of a sexual situation.

That strikes me as being contrary to the doctrine of equality that is the backbone of the feminist movement. I fail to see the logic in any of the above instances, exposing a fatal flaw in this ideology.

The other arena in which PC behavior proves to be problematic is in anything related to race and/or ethnicity. I always detest it when people describe me as being “from Africa,” and I always remind them I’m “from Nigeria.” For the same reason I’m always perplexed when I fill out certain forms – the ones that give “African-American” as an option for ethnicity. The frustration isn’t with the inclusion of that option, but the frequent lack of other options.

I resent being called “African-American” as much as I resent being called “from Africa” because I am not “African-American.” I am Nigerian-American, and to me that’s a huge difference. Anyone who believes otherwise is suffering from serious delusions.

I’d just as soon be called black, because that is a far better description than “African-American.” But to use the word “black” in describing race is considered offensive in a lot of circles. Once again, political correctness fails to satisfy.

And that’s just it – being PC is just as annoying in what it condemns as it is in what it fails to condemn. “African-American” ignores the fact that there is a large percentage of native Africans who are not black. Remember Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia? Yeah, those guys have been giving my Nigerian Super Eagles fits in the African soccer world all my life, so I’m pretty sure they’re African too.

It’s OK for me to use racial slurs against whites simply because I’m black, even though we’ve sought for so many years to remove such speech from society.

Political correctness is a means that is not justified by the end. I truly believe that if we can’t ignore what is PC, we wither and die. The PC movement has become what it most despises – a pervasive machine that dictates what morals we all should abide by, implying by its nature that we all have a collective brain. If we intend to advance as a society, sooner or later we’ll have to discard this notion that the cosmetic procedures that comprise political correctness are the solution to our ills.

Emeka Anyanwu is a senior in electrical engineering from Ames.