1.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

     THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE HAS SOME VERY SEVERE HINDRANCES WHEN
TRYING TO EXPLAIN SOME OF MY IDEAS.  FOR INSTANCE; THERE IS NO
GENDER NEUTRAL THIRD PERSON PRONOUN, SO I USE THE WORDS: IT, ITS,
OR ITSELF, WHEN DISCUSSING GOD.  SO FAR, GOD HAS NOT REVEALED ITS
SEX TO ME.  I DO NOT DO THIS TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT, I DO THIS
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, AND IT IS EASIER THAN THE HE/SHE/IT THING OR THE
COMMON USE OF HE/HIM IN ENGLISH THAT I AND MANY OTHERS DO NOT LIKE. 
THERE ARE ALSO VARIOUS DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS OF LOVE,
HELL, THE SOUL, AND MANY OTHER WORDS I WILL DISCUSS IN THIS PAPER
THAT ENGLISH CAUSES OR ENCOURAGES CONFUSION ABOUT.
     I AM DYSLEXIC, PREDOMINATELY ON THE OUTPUT SIDE AND HAVE
TROUBLE WRITING ANYTHING BY HAND.  I WAS NOT EVEN DIAGNOSED UNTIL I
ENTERED COLLEGE IN THE WINTER SEMESTER OF 93-94, AT THIRTY-SEVEN
YEARS OF AGE.  MY SPELLING AND THE USE OF FORMAL GRAMMAR IN
WRITTEN FORM WERE VERY RUSTY, HAVING NOT EVEN BEEN TRIED IN YEARS. 
NOW HOWEVER, I USE THE COMPUTER EXCLUSIVELY FOR ALL MY WRITING. 
THE COMPUTER HAS MANY TOOLS WHICH HELP ME EXPRESS MYSELF IN
WRITING.  THESE TOOLS ARE THE THINGS WHICH MAKES ME CAPABLE OF
EVEN TRYING TO WRITE THIS BOOK.
     THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS A WONDERFUL MESS, IT HAS AS MANY
INCONSISTENCIES AS ANY POLITICIAN HAS AND IT OBEYS ITS OWN RULES AS
WELL AS THEY DO.  I HAVE HEARD ENGLISH MAJORS SAY ENGLISH IS A VERY
LOGICAL LANGUAGE.  WELL, ONLY TO A VERY ILLOGICAL MIND, IN MY OWN
HUMBLE OPINION.  WE HAVE REALLY MESSED UP OUR LANGUAGE IN THE LAST
FIFTY TO ONE HUNDRED YEARS.  FOR EXAMPLE: GOOD NOW MEANS BAD AND
BAD MEANS GOOD; LOVE IS ANOTHER VERY CONFUSING WORD IN ENGLISH, IT
HAS MANY MEANINGS  SUCH AS SEX, ALSO A STRONG ATTRACTION AND MANY
OTHER USES;  AND LET US NOT FORGET, THAT CURSE WORDS NOW CAN BE
USED AS ALMOST ANY PART OF SPEECH IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
      I HAVE JUST RECENTLY REREAD GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984.  WE ARE
MOVING CLOSER TOWARD SHORT SPEAK EVERY DAY.  OUR GOVERNMENT
NOW USES "DISINFORMATION" REGULARLY; IT SEEMS WE ARE BOMBARDED BY
THE PRESS, RADIO, AND FILMS AND ALMOST EVERYTHING WE SEE AND READ
IS PROPAGANDA FOR ONE THING OR ANOTHER.  WHERE WILL IT ALL END?  NO
WONDER THE ENGLISH SAY WE ARE DESTROYING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
(B)  NOW ABOUT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL
INDIVIDUALS HAVE A CULTURE, THAT THEIR CULTURE BE RECOGNIZED AND
THAT THEY CAN CELEBRATE IT.  ALSO, THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD
RESPECTS AND VALUES IT, EVEN IF THAT CULTURE DEVALUES THE REST OF
THE WORLD OR ANOTHER SPECIFIC CULTURE.  WHY? BECAUSE, TWO
WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT.
     ANY SUCH SUBCULTURE IS IMPORTANT TO ITSELF AND MAY NOT BE TO
ANYONE ELSE.  BUT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME, ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT
WHEN THOSE SUBCULTURES BECOME MORE MATURE, THEY CAN ADD TO THE
BIGGER CULTURE.  I TRY TO SEE THE BIGGER CULTURE, THE CULTURE OF
EARTH.  I BELIEVE THAT UNTIL AND UNLESS WE STOP CUTTING OURSELVES
INTO SMALLER AND SMALLER SUBCULTURES, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT
AMONG OURSELVES.  WE ARE KEEPING OURSELVES DOWN.  A HUMAN CAN
NEVER BE FULLY A HUMAN UNTIL AND UNLESS THEY RECOGNIZE THE
CULTURE OF EARTH.  WE MUST START TO RECOGNIZE OUR SIMILARITIES AND
STOP LOOKING FOR OUR DIFFERENCES.  WE ALL EAT WITH OUR MOUTHS,
EXCRETE WITH OUR ANUSES, BREATHE WITH OUR LUNGS, AND MAKE LOVE
WITH OUR GENITALS.  HOW EACH SUBCULTURE SPECIFICALLY CELEBRATES
LIFE IS ALMOST AN EXTRANEOUS BIT OF INFORMATION.  THE FACT IS THAT WE
ALL CELEBRATE LIFE; THIS IS OUR MOST BASIC SIMILARITY.
     I THINK THAT THE WAY TO MEASURE THE IMPORTANCE OF ANY
SUBCULTURE IS THE WILLINGNESS TO SHARE ITSELF WITH A PERSON FROM
ANOTHER SUBCULTURE. THE LESS WILLING THAT SUBCULTURE IS TO SHARE,
THE LESS IMPORTANT THAT SUBCULTURE IS TO THE BIGGER CULTURE OR TO
ANY INDIVIDUAL OUTSIDE OF THAT SUBCULTURE.  IF YOU WANT ME TO
RESPECT YOUR SUBCULTURE, SHARE IT WITH ME, THEN I CAN APPRECIATE
ITS VALUE.  AT THE SAME TIME, I CAN SHARE MY SUBCULTURE WITH YOU AND
YOU CAN APPRECIATE MY SUBCULTURE.  I AM WILLING TO SHARE WITH YOU;
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SHARE WITH ME, THEN A POX ON YOU!
     THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT: EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US HAS
MANY CULTURES INSIDE EACH OF US.  HERE IN THE USA WE ARE THE MELTING
POT OF THE WORLD.  WE THE PEOPLE, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, IS A
MIXTURE OF RACES, ETHNIC GROUPS, CULTURES, RELIGIONS, SEXUAL
ORIENTATIONS, WORK BACKGROUNDS, EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES,
ECONOMIC STATUS, SOCIAL STATUS, LANGUAGES,  ABILITIES AND/OR
DISABILITIES (IT IS NOW POLITICALLY CORRECT TO SAY DIFFERENTLY ABLED). 
THESE DIFFERENCES DON'T MAKE US DIFFERENT; THEY MAKE US THE
SAME-HUMAN BEINGS FROM THE PLANET EARTH.  ALL THESE SO-CALLED
DIFFERENCES OCCUR ON EARTH AND IN THE HUMAN SPECIES.
     I AM TRYING TO LEARN TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT WHEN DEALING
WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM ME.  TO ILLUSTRATE
THIS, IT IS NOT CORRECT TO DESCRIBE A DISABILITY BEFORE NAMING THE
PERSON.   FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF "THIS IS DEAF JEFF," IT IS MUCH NICER
AND POLITICALLY CORRECT TO SAY, "THIS IS JEFF, WHO IS DEAF."  THIS IS AN
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.  WE ARE PEOPLE BEFORE WE ARE ANY OF OUR
CHARACTERISTICS.
     HOWEVER, I AM VERY TIRED OF BEING BLAMED FOR THE CRIMES OF THE
PAST BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT MY SKIN COLOR IS WHITE OR I AM MALE OR
I AM A (FILL-IN THE BLANK).  I WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS AN INDIVIDUAL
HUMAN BEING.  IT SEEMS THAT I AM AUTOMATICALLY A RACIST, OR A SEXIST,
OR ANY OTHER . . . IST BECAUSE SOMEONE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR
RECOGNIZES I AM WHITE, OR SOMEONE OF THE OTHER SEX RECOGNIZES I AM
MALE, OR ANYONE ELSE'S JUDGMENT ABOUT ME AS ANY KIND OF . . . IST
BECAUSE OF MY APPEARANCE.  IS THIS FAIR?
     I TRY NOT TO ALLOW MYSELF TO ACT DIFFERENTLY TOWARD OTHERS
JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM ME.  I TRY TO TREAT
EVERYONE WITH FAIRNESS, WITH HONESTY AND TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY
ARE HUMAN BEINGS.  THE FACT IS THAT WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS, AND
INDIVIDUALS (YES, WITH OUR OWN PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, EVEN WITH
OUR OWN DIFFICULTIES, BUT WE ARE ALL STILL HUMAN BEINGS).
     WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SENTIENT BEINGS: INTELLIGENT, ABLE TO
COMMUNICATE, REPRODUCE, MOVE, AND BE SELF-AWARE.  MAYBE WE ARE
TOO SELF-AWARE OF OUR DIFFERENCES AND NOT AWARE ENOUGH OF OUR
OWN HUMANITY AND OUR SIMILARITIES WITH THE REST OF HUMANITY.  WE
ARE ALL BORN AND WILL DIE HERE ON EARTH, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING. 
THE TIME WE HAVE TO REMAIN HERE ON EARTH COULD BE SHORTER IF WE
WOULD STOP FIGHTING ABOUT WHICH OF OUR TEENY, TINY LITTLE
SUBCULTURES IS BETTER THAN ANOTHER.  THEN WE COULD WORK
TOGETHER AND LEAVE THIS PLANET AND JOIN THE NEXT BIGGER CULTURE.  
THIS NEXT CULTURE COULD BE THE SOLAR, GALACTIC, OR UNIVERSAL
CULTURE, TO WHICH HUMANITY ALREADY BELONGS.
     WHEN WE ALL CAN BE HUMAN BEINGS, OF THE CULTURE OF EARTH,
THEN WE WILL BE READY TO DEAL WITH THE NEXT BIGGER CULTURE. 
HOPEFULLY, WHEN WE MAKE CONTACT WITH THE NEXT BIGGER CULTURE,
WE WILL NOT BE A FRACTURED CULTURE ANY LONGER, AND WILL BE ABLE TO
PARTICIPATE ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH THE NEXT BIGGER CULTURE.  NO, I
AM AFRAID WE ARE FAR TOO HUMAN FOR THAT.
     BESIDES, AS FAR AS "POLITICALLY CORRECTNESS" GOES, I THINK IT IS
FAR TOO DIFFICULT TO TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT EACH SUBCULTURE WISHES
TO BE CALLED THIS WEEK OR DETERMINE TO WHICH SUBCULTURE EACH
PERSON BELONGS (AN EVEN HARDER JOB WITHOUT OFFENDING SOMEONE). 
WHY DON'T WE JUST CALL OURSELVES HUMAN BEINGS, AND GET ON WITH IT? 
WELL, SO MUCH FOR MY "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS."