Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism--True Stories That Should Be Fiction

Author Smerconish puts the spotlight on the arena of political correctness. Is this trend in todays world really about "righting a wrong" or "overreactions"? Decide for yourself as you read this well-written collection of true stories. You may recognize some of the situations cited from your daily newspapers: -little old ladies hired to guard 200 pound prisoners, -newborn babies or toddlers and old men with walkers singled out at the airport for security scrutiny vs Profiling? -LADIES NIGHTS promotions for discounted/ free drinks at restaurants and bars debated as discriminatory. - a 9 year old boy ordered to stop putting flowers on dead soldiers' graves in a cemetery. He noticed that everyone's lot in the cemetery had flowers but none in the soldiers' lot where veterans of Vietnam, Korean, Revolutionary , Civil, Spanish-American Wars and WW I and II were buried. His compassionate action inflamed others and became the catalyst for a furor between Cemetery Board trustees, City fathers and Veterans. - the Miss America beauty pageant candidates' platform issues -Religion, -Politics, - T-ball. "Muzzled" may make you squirm, laugh, and even start thinking about the increasing encroaching effect of this trend on your way of life.

There is a world view that the political left has that insists that reality is a fiction and that fiction can be a reality. In MUZZLED, radio talk show host Michael Smerconish takes to task the entire spectrum of thought that demands that we see the world through the lens of those who try to please everyone but winds up pleasing no one. Political Correctness (PC) is a recent invention of the left. When I first heard of it in the late 1980's, I thought that it might be a good thing. After all, how could I argue against those who seemed to be trumpeting the rights of the handicapped, the disaffected, the disenfranchised, and minorities in general? Well, as it turned out, I found out that the list of potential entrants into the pool of the handicapped et al quickly grew in number until the only ones not included were the ones not likely to donate to the party that promised an ever increasing piece of the economic and social pie. In the world of the politically correct, Smerconish notes that one can lash out in any direction without fear of facing consequences. In MUZZLED, he provides numerous examples of PC recipients who have taken Star Trek's Mr. Spock's admonition and turned it on its head: "The needs of the few must always outweigh the needs of the many." One example: Teaching supervisors warn teachers not to use red to mark the papers of students who have made grammatical errors. The rationale is that red has punitive overtones and can lead to a student's loss of self-esteem. Purple has now become the new red. Smerconish notes that when purple then develops the same insidious overtones that now allegedly afflict red, then purple will have to be replaced in turn by a less offensive color. He further notes that current educational pedagogy now elevates student self-esteem over student mastery of what used to be called the three R's. Smerconish's other chapters do not merely deal with issues that are annoying such as the purple-red controversy, but many touch on issues that relate directly to the very survival of this country. The politically correct left insists that at airports, Swedish grandmothers are to be considered at the same level of danger as young Moslem males. The recent arrest of some two dozen terrorists at England's Heathrow Airport was made possible only by using the very techniques that PC demands be dropped. What becomes clear from reading MUZZLED and listening to the apologists of PC in the New York Times is that political correctness is merely one facet of a multi-pronged effort to transform the United States into a socialist vision that belongs only to the scattered few who nevertheless wield a power far out of proportion to their numbers: the media, academia, and the Hollywood elite. Smerconish closes by noting that it is now no longer politically correct to call terrorists terrorists. Now when we see planes blown out of the sky, the media may have to refer to the perpetrators as "co-ordinators of aerial strikes."

This book will make you laugh but it should make us all cry. To see what the effects of political correctness has had on our society is frightening. Smerconish does a great job of digging up some examples of out of control political correctness and its adverse effect on society. From scoreless sporting events to teachers using purple ink, each story will make you chuckle but should serve as a wake up call.

I bought this book right away when it came out, i'm having trouble figuring out how the first guy even read this book since his post is from march and the book came out April 4th. Michael is my most favorite radio personality and had been listening for years until i moved out of the area. I thought this book started off slow in the introduction and in the first chapter, but after that, it really took off. To me, most of the stuff Michael says is just plain common sense. I have a few disagreements with his opinions, but I think he is saying what is needed to be said on a lot of issues. The warning at the beginning says it all, this book is NOT for the easily offended.

Don't listen to what the first reviewer said -- Muzzled is an unbelievably interesting and frustrating (for what it exposes) book that everyone should read. Political correctness has become all to pervasive in society and Smerconish is working to end it.