There are so many problems plaguing America today. There are also a plethora of imaginary problems that both conservatives and liberals like to perpetuate through conversation. The overarching theme that connects so many problems in America is “Political Correctness.” It results in a stasis with no progress on either side of the political barrier. Conservatives dismiss so-called “politically correct” statements and ideas from liberals and liberals dismiss so-called intolerant or bigoted statements and ideas from conservatives. The purpose of my Civil Issues blog this semester, titled Politically Incorrect, is to delve past the initial appearance of a different problem each week. Each problem will be one that is affected in some way by “Political Correctness.”

There has been uproar from “news” media for the past week, at least. The reporting is based on the “injustices” that the Oscar Awards represent. The reported “White Oscars” have caused outrage about supposed injustices served to African Americans such as Michael B. Jordan who are excellent actors not nominated for an award. While these articles and publications speak the truth about some good actors not being nominated for awards, there are equally deserving non-minority people who weren’t nominated. When we look deeper into the situation and remove the lens and requirement of being politically correct, we can say that perhaps there were oversights and that there are plenty of people who may deserve an award but didn’t get it regardless of race.

I interpret the general anger about this subject to be as a result of misrepresentation of African Americans in one aspect of our culture. Television and movie media are only one aspect of our culture right now, but movies and TV should not represent Americans as a whole. For example, the most popular movie in theaters this past year was Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The beauty in Star Wars was that there were aliens all working together. In a sense, that represents America. We are a melting pot of everyone working together.

We can look outside of Hollywood for representation of America.  We host the United Nations in New York. One of our President’s most important responsibilities is to speak to the rest of the world on behalf of the entire country. We produce music sold worldwide. Our music artists go on international tours. We produce literature; our authors are artists who put thoughts into words.

Is there a problem within the film industry? Maybe when you don’t give certain people opportunities based entirely on race there is a problem. Once again, let us look at this situation without any claim to political correctness. It is entirely possible that as a whole, or in general, African-Americans do not fill the available roles. It is also a possibility that perhaps African-Americans are generally not as good at acting. These are possibilities that can be considered instead of identifying it as a “problem,” it can be seen as a situation that takes time, effort or patience to evolve.

Let us consider some other areas of representation. Once again, forget political correctness. The President of the United States is African-American. It is true that historically, United States Presidents are non-minorities, but when you consider statistics, there have only been 9 new presidents since the end of segregation. In terms of ability to be elected then, we are close to accurate representation of population percentages. Since the end of segregation, there has been an 11% representation of African-Americans in the Presidency. America is currently only 13% black. That is pretty close to equal representation.

Think about another form of media: rap music. My favorite artist is not only African-American, but he also won an Grammy. My point with this example is that different demographics will be represented differently in different sectors of production or ability. Rap music is an example of an industry and media form that is dominated by African-Americans in the same way that Hollywood media is dominated by non-minorities.

Instead of perpetuating a conversation about how our skin color is different and because of that, some people feel like they aren’t being treated fairly, let us work to actionable solutions. It is completely reasonable to say that African-Americans do not have the same recognition in Hollywood as non-minorities. It is equally reasonable to say that non-minorities do not have the same recognition in the rap industry as African-Americans. We should focus on what we can produce as a whole, united country instead of looking at how unfairly we think we are being treated. America did not become great because people complained about their situation. America became great because of people willing to leave their comfort zone and make work for themselves, regardless of the personal risk involved. Some people died to make the opportunities available today. Yes, I referring to the man who’s holiday we celebrated this week. Rest in peace, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. You helped make this country great again.