We have often remarked on what difficult times these are for the art of parody. If he is to be successful, a parodist must be able to count on his audience’s ability to distinguish clearly between the parody and the reality being spoofed. The triumph of political correctness has long since blurred that distinction. Whose ideological antennae are sensitive enough to register accurately the shifting claims of victimhood and entitlement? A mayoral aide in Washington, D.C. uses the word “niggardly” in conversation with a black colleague; the colleague takes offense because he thinks “niggardly” is racist; the aide promptly offers his resignation, which is accepted. True or parodic exaggeration? True, all too true.

“Racism,” of course, is something it behooves us all to worry about constantly, never mind that the word is a neologism so recent that it failed to make the 1970 edition of The Oxford English Dictionary. ...

This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchase