Just Jay Rants...Has Political Correctness Gone Mad - Cadburys vs Easter

Political correctness gone mad is a phrase which seems to pop up more now than ever. I am not one to always get political but I am happy to say what I feel and while others may not agree with me, hopefully people will respect my opinion.

The left and right of the political spectrum have never been so far apart. With Donald Trump the new President of the United States of America and the UK voting to leave the European Union, it seems to have divided the western world.

Politically, let me tell you where I stand in the political spectrum, I believe I am the centre left. I voted to remain in the EU and I would rather have seen Hilary in the White House.

So, does that make me a liberal leftard? Or am I a “Snow Flake”? Maybe. One thing is for sure though, I get my opinion based on my own research. I was very open to voting to Leave the EU but I made an informed decision to vote remain. So, whatever I may be labelled as, I made my own decision and I am happy with that.

This will be the first of a series of posts I am writing regarding the issue of the current climate. As mentioned, this is all based on my own opinion and my own research and experience on the subject.

Political Correctness Gone Mad!

So how has it gone mad, well to be fair, political correctness has gone mad in some areas, in others, people jump to conclusions and assume it has gone mad and some people just need to get with the times.

If you think this whole political correctness thing is new, well you are wrong. In 2004 I worked for a popular aquarium, it was Christmas time and in every exhibit, we had some retro Christmas songs blaring through until the Director walked through while a British Indian family walked through. In all horror, the Director ran to reception giving the order to turn off the music. The family did not batter an eyelid, if anything, the music being turned off made things more awkward. That memory sticks in my head because that Christmas, we went on a staff Christmas meal to an Indian restaurant, the place was decorated top to bottom with Christmas decorations.

Right then, I believe that the actions of the Director were Political Correctness gone mad.

Next up we have the recent controversy over the word Easter slightly being dropped on the National Trust Cadbury Egg Hunt.

Now the country including our Prime Minister has gone crazy over this. Now as a former manager for a National Trust property, I have been involved with this Egg hunt, I am confident that the decision to remove the word Easter is nothing about Political Correctness. If it was, then what has this achieved?

Now let’s get the facts in this straight first. The word Easter has not gone from all materials, it is still on the website, the advertisements and most of the materials. But before we talk about how Cadbury’s is trying to be PC, let us remember one thing. THIS IS A COMPANY TRYING TO SELL CHOCOLATE! Cadbury’s has no moral obligation to do anything else but to sell people chocolate. I do not have a problem with this, what I am bothered about is the fury behind the meaning of Easter and how it is being diluted.

We barely celebrate the true meaning of Easter in this country. The number of people going to church is at an all time low. According to the Guardian, half the number of people who went to Church in the 1960’s go to church now. In 2016 it is said that only 2% of the population go to church weekly. In a country, which likes to be reminded on the comment section of Britain First Facebook group, this is a Christian country and people need to respect this.

Ok, we have a population that only 59% identify as British. Less than 800,000 people go to church weekly and the only time this attendance changes to 2.6 million is at Christmas. Easter does not see a hike in numbers.

So, I would happily question people who get all high and mighty about Easter being removed from the Easter Egg Hunt but do not actually practise the thing they are trying to defend.

As well as that, Easter is so much about the chocolate egg that the message is lost.

The story behind the Easter Egg is confused. People claim that the egg symbolises the resurrection of Christ, the shape being circular or an egg symbolising new life.

Like most things, this is apparently wrong. The story goes back to the good old Victorians where the church would not allow the eating of eggs on the run up to Easter Sunday. So, what the children would do would be decorate the eggs.

So why are people getting so mad? Why are people saying Political Correctness has gone mad?

Well it is clear that people are trying to cling on to their own identity. It is an image they have of themselves that they are letting go.

Now when the church says that Cadburys are disrespecting the idea of Easter, then they can be 100% right, that is something they are passionate about. When other people say, this who aren’t attending church on Easter, who are angry about Easter eggs, all I can say is get a grip. Do not lie and say you will never buy from Cadburys again. Let us go with the times and really accept what Easter is to the majority of us, an amazing long weekend when we need it.

The Easter Egg, the hunting of Easter eggs and chocolate is nothing to do with the story. Go out with your children and have a fab day and if the Easter story is something you want your kids to know, then take them to church like you do at Christmas, read the story and claim your identity back.

Do not blame it on Political Correctness, blame it on yourself. It is such a minor issue that I do not know why people get so worked up about it.

I am not saying do not have an opinion on the subject but maybe it is time we start looking at ourselves and why something gets this reaction. For some it is because we believe the country is losing its identity, others believe that other religions are becoming more prominent and we do not like this but others must be some sort of disappointment in themselves for allowing themselves to lose a piece of them they wish they had.

The Easter Egg Hunt is a reflection on everything we believe is political correctness gone mad, I will get more serious in my following Blogs in this series when we will talk about feminism, religion and sexuality.

I hope you read this and do not just thing I am a “leftard” defending Cadburys and the National Trust and you will think about Easter and what it means to you.

We will get more serious but I thought we would start on a subject less heavy.

Thank you for reading.