To the fans of the 1999 science fiction action film The Matrix, you will undoubtedly remember Cypher sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant, saying, “You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.”

Cypher chooses to stop living in a world of truth and return to falsehood because falsehood brings him more familiarity and comfort than having to manage reality.

We can go back much further to find camaraderie in ignorance, as the author of the dystopian masterwork Brave New World, published in 1932, wrote in this novel, “… the greater part of the population is not very intelligent, dreads responsibility, and desires nothing better than to be told what to do. Provided the rulers do not interfere with its material comforts and its cherished beliefs, it is perfectly happy to let itself be ruled.”

Hmm…. this sounds a bit too familiar and no longer comfortable.

We can barely laugh at ourselves anymore, much less laugh with others, in a world where people make a full-time job out of being offended.

But the rub is the hypocrisy of the politically correct rules. What is okay for one group is not allowed in another.

Case in point, the N-word should never be used by anyone, regardless of age, color, or gender. This word has been referred to as one of the most racially charged words in American history, per The Washington Post.

Yet, we still hear this foul word in rap music and in tossed-around slang speech. Although some may disagree, if a word triggers the bowels of ugliness in humanity, it should be banned from all mouths, not just mouths upon bodies of a specific color. No one should think this is cool.

If we are truly working towards becoming more kind humans in our meaning of humankind, perhaps we should reexamine the rules that seem to be okay for one group and considered racist by another.

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Cast a stone into the current event pool and this topic is found skipping through the presidential campaign.

Presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris shared a video on August 15 where Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz humorously stated that he enjoys eating “White guy tacos.”

“What does that mean? Like mayonnaise and tuna? What are you doing?” Harris jested, reported Fox 4 KDFW. Walz appears to be playing the role of a stereotypically clad, plain-as-paste white man.

Let’s face it: the dumbing down of white men is nothing new, but, like the N-word, it doesn’t make it right.

For example, consider the sitcom Married… with Children. The character Al Bundy is portrayed as a man who peaked in high school as a former football player but is now a tragicomic figure falling short of his and society’s expectations, enjoying bowling and visiting “nudie” bars.

This is one of many examples and continues the discussion of the emasculation of white men through humor or shame as a possible form of punishment for the historical position of power they once held. As such, many DEI campaigns now walk the tightrope of celebrating reverse discrimination.

Like Jack Reynolds, former Tarrant County College employee, recently told The Dallas Express, “The left has no problem with racism as long as they can pick the race and who gets to be a racist.”

Which brings us back to Kamala.

Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said that Kamala’s response about the mayonnaise and tuna was “… anti-white racism. That is what that is. And if you don’t believe that, right? If you think that I’m overstating the case, alright, well, just imagine it the other way. Imagine a Black guy says to Donald Trump, I make Black guy tacos, and Donald Trump says, oh, what is that? Like, fried chicken and watermelon? …  What do you think the reaction would be? Nuclear meltdown, literally.”

Columnist at Fox News and author David Marcus posted on X what many Americans are thinking, “Harris and Walz’s bizarre racial antics display a double standard that more and more Americans are sick and tired of.”

Still, other Americans pay no heed to the alleged hypocrisy and claim the focus on the “white guy” campaign tactic from the Harris camp is nothing but friendly banter, turning voters’ attention to other topics, as suggested by Rolling Stone.

Perhaps it is all in a bit of fun. But, could we not say the same for television sitcoms like All in the Family and The Jeffersons, when people made fun of their worst and best selves? Yet, these American sitcoms would not last a week on public television if they were first introduced today.

So, returning to The Matrix, the question must be asked, “How is that steak tasting?”

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