What does it mean to be politically correct?

The entire subject of multicultural sensitivity is important and confusing. I never want to insult anyone. I think this subject is confusing to many people because preferred terms continually change. Additionally, what people consider insulting changes based on who is labeling whom. For example, many ethnic groups take no insult, or even find it humorous when a member of the same ethnic group or friend labels them. However, if a stranger or member of a different ethnicity used the same label it would be considered an insult and not politically correct.

Often minorities or those close to minorities label themselves with the very terms that are frowned upon. For example in a personal story published in the New York Times, a husband of a "paraplegic" wrote that his wife was "crippled in a car accident." However, the book says to avoid the term "crippled." If a reporter used the term, who knows what could happen.

The creation of media that contradicts what is considered politically correct complicates this subject further. A newspaper that caters to an African American audience is named the Afro American Newspaper. Once again, this demonstrates that the rules change based on who is labeling whom.

In examining an article that quoted Obama, I noticed that Obama used all of the preferred and politically correct terms listed in chapter 15 of our text. "And year after year, a stubborn gap persists between how well white students are doing compared to their African American and Latino classmates," Obama said. Impressively, he did not use the term "Hispanic" even though according to the book, the generic term was created in Washington. Of course, "white" and "African American" are accurate terms.

Luckily, amid all of this confusion, we can look to president Obama as an example for which terms are appropriate.

A World without Boundaries

Ironed dress slacks and fancy button-down shirts lined the halls of the Embassy Suites hotel. With resume in hand, I joined the professional looking crowd at the 14th Annual International Career Conference this past February 21 with the hope of gaining career advice and perhaps even a job.

The theme of the conference, "a world without boundaries" influenced the selection of Patricia Woertz, CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, as the keynote speaker on global leadership. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) serves as a global agricultural processing chain.

From the confident and experienced Woertz, I learned to look for organizations that are growing despite the failing economy when job searching. I also was advised to trust my instincts, take risks, and look for values in a future employment organization that align with my own.

Motivational speaker, Denise Dudley encouraged me to find my passion in a future career. Dudley, a published author and co-founder of SkillPath Seminars, earned a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology. Now a professional public speaker, she tours the country giving seminars on business writing, communication skills, management and supervisory skills, and personal relationships.

Dudley defines passion as a learned response to an environmental cue. She said we learn to recognize passion by building pathways in our brain. Once we have had a passionate experience, we are able to recognize other instances of passion during our daily lives.

“People are healthier who can match their passion to a career,” Dudley said. Along with this, people usually enjoy what they are good at, Dudley said.

Dudley preaches that passion should come naturally, and “you don’t have to fake it.” It drains energy to not “be you.”

In order to begin to find a career with passion under Dudley’s advice, I need to make a list of personal assets. Next, I need to make a list of assets I desire in a career. By matching my personal assets with an organization’s assets, I am on my way to working and living my passion.

With a few new tips added to my existing career knowledge, I ventured to a “Job Success” workshop. The workshop was put on by a panel of former Cal Poly graduates. Each graduate spoke about how they received their first job after graduation and what they now look for when they hire new employees.

In terms of the resume, I learned to place the keyword qualities that are listed in the job description onto my resume. Apparently, this little trick could keep my resume alive through a stack of fifty other potential applicants. Additionally, I learned to place my three most impressive bullet points at the top of the list. Often the person who reads your resume doesn’t make it past point number three before deciding whether to place you in the trash or possibility pile.

To prepare for the interview, I learned to think about my most challenging experiences, and how I persevered. It seems, employers use past behavior to predict future behavior.

Now with even more career insight and knowledge of what is wrong with the resume I have brought to the job fair, I attempted to confidently glide in and impress my new future employers. Yes, a job was sure to come from this pursuit! Or at least, this was the vision in my head. In reality after speaking with almost every company at the job fair, I walked away without much hope of a job surfacing from my encounters. The combination of my English degree and the types of positions available failed to correspond in most cases, but the world is boundless, right? I must believe that my career opportunities are boundless as well.

Trends-What is in at the moment

Fashion changes constantly. What is in one minute is "so out" the next. In response to the ever changing definition of what is hip, the "New York Times Style Magazine" publishes a blog titled "The Moment."
After a few clicks, I am up on the latest fashion, food, lingo, and alternative magazine publications.
Here is what I learned.
In terms of men's fashion the practical, working class look is in. This seems to be inspired by the current state of the economy and a need for an image that symbolizes stability. Items like warm winter vests and fingerless gloves top the editor's picks of fashion must haves.
The women's fashion for the season is anything but minimal. Models are gallivanting down the runway in sea-creature covered Prada, Mary Poppins ensembles, tutu pantaloons, hats with pom poms the size of a head, and shoes every color of the rainbow. Such fantastical costumes make me wonder if people actually wear these outfits in everyday life.
The new and unusual style of serving food is to make the plate look messy, thrown together, or as writer Christine Muhlke puts it "naturalistic." The theory is that naturalism plating better captures the "essence of the ingredients."
A"words on the street" section provides three new words to add to my vocabulary. "Americation" is defined as a neologism for a vacation taken in America. An "enclave" is a distinct cultural or social unit within foreign territory. Lastly, "edge" is defined as a provocative or unconventional quality.
If you want edge in a magazine, "The Moment" suggests reading "Apartamento" magazine. "Apartamento" originates in Barcelona, Spain. Instead of showing perfect cookie-cutter apartments, "Apartamento" photographs messy, lived-in spaces that have nice furniture and overall design.
For the not messy, design conscious individuals there is new eco-friendly feline habitats that complement designer furniture. Handmade dog and cat toys complement the habitat and nicely blend into the design of the room as a whole.
Often trendy fashion magazines are not taken seriously, but I did notice that the blog writers excelled. The writers constructed excellent hooks and kept a quick-witted tone throughout the entire site. For example, the hook "hold the gravy; the perfect accessory for lean times might very well be these wishbone earrings from Melissa Joy Manning" demonstrates incredible creativity and knowledge of national news.

Subjects Lacking Coverage

Wars, politics, and violence tend to receive continuous media coverage. In the midst of these really big conflicts, other stories that may seem less important are put on the back page or not reported at all.
Some of the stories labeled as less important are in fact worthy of public attention--some demand it.
For instance, the salmonella outbreak in a Georgia peanut plant that ships all over the U.S. Approximately 501 people in 43 states have been afflicted, and eight people have died. California is one of the states most affected from the outbreak.
If people are not aware that the FDA has warned people to avoid any foods containing peanut paste, the result can be deadly.
Luckily, this subject has been continuously covered on both the national and local newscasts. However, despite the fact that the outbreak continues, I haven't seen continuous coverage in The Mustang Daily or The Tribune.
A person who relies on the local newspaper for information may just end up a victim of salmonella poisoning.
Another subject that a person who reads the local newspaper and/or watches the local news would miss is information about a global warming study. The study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, found that the effects of global warming are irreversible. Even if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide completely, the climate will not return to normal after 100 or 200 years. BBC released this information on their website.
This subject is important to the public because it communicates the extent of the environmental problems we must solve. The more aware the public is about the dire situation our environment is in, the more likely we will be able to collectively make the necessary changes to survive on this planet. Obviously, we need to start making changes now!
Beyond Earth, people are actually taking vacations in space. I find it fascinating that NASA is opening the space shuttle to those who are willing to pay a hefty price.
This story about space vacations appeared on the local news in the past, but I haven't heard or read anything about it since. I would be interested in learning more about this story out of curiosity.
It may be that more information on space isn't reported because of its lack of proximity to our daily lives. However, from an entertainment perspective, a story that describes people taking space vacations seems newsworthy to me.
Another newsworthy story that is lacking coverage ironically concerns the inauguration. Some people who attended the inauguration were told by police to go into an underground tunnel to reach the white house. These people ended up trapped in underground tunnels.
The story is being further investigated, but the initial makings of this story are not well publicized.
This story is important because in an event such as people being trapped, the media can draw enough attention to the subject so that more people are not left in a threatening situation in the future.

Information Overload?

In today's information age a person can end up overwhelmed with local, national, and international news. Between the array of newspapers, web articles, and television and radio newscasts, a person who regularly tunes into these multiple media forms is susceptible to media madness.
It is easy to obtain any news information desired. Want to know what is going in the local area? Read one of the local area newspapers, log on to the corresponding web page, or watch the local news channel. For those who desire a broader perspective of news events, national and international newspapers, television newscasts, and websites exist.
What happens when the ease of finding information turns into information overload?
We need to remember that we are in control of what we read, watch, and listen to. Even if we are in an environment with constant television, internet, and newspapers, we choose what we pay attention to.
As for the other extreme, the uniformed person consciously makes a choice not to tune in. An uninformed person may think that they are uniformed because they do not have enough time to catch up on current events. However, with the various channels of media available there is no excuse for ignorance.
It is effortless to become informed by choosing a media channel that compliments your daily routine. People who commute or spend a considerable amount of time in the car can tune into national public radio for the latest national news. People who work on a computer at some point during the day can easily go to a news website in order to catch up.
According to the L.A. Times, Americans are watching more T.V. than ever, averaging more than 142 hours a month! With so many hours spent in front of the television, the opportunity to become informed is only a click away.
With each different media form: print, online, and broadcast, the consumer receives information focused in different manners. For example, broadcast covers the major stories in a short length of time. Print media, such as newspapers and magazines, offers a wider variety of topics than a broadcast, but with less extensive subject coverage than an online media source. Online sources offer more articles to cross reference information with as well as interactive capabilities that the other channels do not offer.
Staying informed without overdoing it depends on choice and balance. A person needs to decide how much information they want to know, what type of news they seek (national, regional, local) and then match their needs with a media channel that fits their lifestyle. With so many options, we have the power to mold the media to our needs!
Dolph C. Simons Jr., owner and publisher of Journal-World, confirmed this idea of reader control when he said, "We want to stay abreast of new developments and be able to deliver news and advertising, as well as other information, however a reader may desire."