--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Deference has been codified in American…" description: "\"Deference has been codified in American life as political correctness. And political correctness functions like a despotic regime. It is an oppressiven..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/shelby-steele-3370_american_deference-has-been-codified-in-american_2387585.jpg" --- # Deference has been codified in American life as political… ![“Deference has been codified in American life as political correctness. And political correctness functions like a despotic regime. It is an oppressiveness that spreads its edicts further and further into the crevices of everyday life.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/shelby-steele-3370_american_deference-has-been-codified-in-american_2387585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/shelby-steele-3370_american_deference-has-been-codified-in-american_2387585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/shelby-steele-3370_american_deference-has-been-codified-in-american_2387585.jpg) > “Deference has been codified in American life as political correctness. And political correctness functions like a despotic regime. It is an oppressiveness that spreads its edicts further and further into the crevices of everyday life.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political correctness is portrayed as an oppressive system that infiltrates daily life, limiting free expression. **In simple terms:** Political correctness is seen as a restrictive force. Key Takeaway Question the limits of enforced conformity. Themes freedom speech authority culture power Mood critical defensive Type political social commentary. When to use this quote - workplace discussions - social media - education - public policy - personal interactions Key Concepts authoritarianism social control norms Questions to Reflect On - Is there a balance between respect and free speech? - How does enforcement affect creativity? A Different Perspective It may protect marginalized groups but can also stifle legitimate debate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-life/) [Correctness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correctness/) [Correctness Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correctness-political-1430738/) [Day life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-life/) [Deference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deference/) [Deference Codified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deference-codified-5935435/) [Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Oppressiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressiveness-1101883/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political correctness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-correctness/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Political correctness is neither political nor is it correct. It amounts to social censorship, and the sooner we spit it out, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/political-correctness-is-neither-political-nor-is-it-correct-it/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [Political correctness and so many of the political fashions of the day...could only be perpetrated in adolescent minds: minds, that is, that are trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/political-correctness-and-so-many-of-the-political-fashions-of-the/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“If ultimately there was a tantalizing rectitude about her, she was none the less cunning: her exceeding gentleness, howbeit mitigated sometimes by the disturbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/if-ultimately-there-was-a-tantalizing-rectitude-about-her-she-was/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [We need less political correctness and more political courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-widdecombe/we-need-less-political-correctness-and-more-political-courage/) [Ann Widdecombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-widdecombe/) > [Since the 1960s, when America finally became fully accountable for its past, deference toward all groups with any claim to past or present victimization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/since-the-1960s-when-america-finally-became-fully-accountable-for-its/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [You can do pretty much anything you want to do in America as a black, including become president. Still, the legacy of our victimization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/you-can-do-pretty-much-anything-you-want-to-do-in-america-as-a-black/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Deference often shrinks and withers as much upon the approach of intimacy as the sensitive plant does upon the touch of one's finger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/deference-often-shrinks-and-withers-as-much-upon-the-approach-of/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [The most congenial social occasions are those ruled by cheerful deference of each for all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-most-congenial-social-occasions-are-those-ruled-by-cheerful/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honour or whatever else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-affairs-of-the-world-are-no-more-than-so-much-trickery-and-a-man/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is a form of eminence which does not depend on fate; it is an air which sets us apart and seems to prtend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/there-is-a-form-of-eminence-which-does-not-depend-on-fate-it-is-an/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“He has that quiet deference, that look of pleased, attentive interest, in listening to a woman, which, say what we may, we can none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/he-has-that-quiet-deference-that-look-of-pleased-attentive-interest/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [There are very many characteristics which go into making a model civil servant. Prominent among them are probity, industry, good sense, good habits, good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/there-are-very-many-characteristics-which-go-into-making-a-model/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [The bonds between ourselves and another person exists only in our minds. Memory as it grows fainter loosens them, and notwithstanding the illusion by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-between-ourselves-and-another-person-exists-only-in-our/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [It was before Vatican II and the liberalization of church doctrine. You weren't meant to eat meat on Friday in deference to Christ, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-durang/it-was-before-vatican-ii-and-the-liberalization-of-church-doctrine/) [Christopher Durang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-durang/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. It is a condition, not an agent of change. It does not develop or uplift those who win it. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/freedom-is-just-freedom-it-is-a-condition-not-an-agent-of-change-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [In Vietnam, America fought one whose communism was driven by an underlying nationalism, the desire to live free of the West. Whatever one may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/in-vietnam-america-fought-one-whose-communism-was-driven-by-an/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [No doubt Israel and America have made mistakes in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barack-obama-was-that-he-had-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Deference has been codified in American life as political correctness. And political correctness functions like a despotic regime. 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