'Politically correct' is one of those phrases that has basically no coherent or consistent meaning. We use it today to refer to nit-picky liberals who probably do more harm than good. But where does one draw the line? The point at which progressive social ideas become PC by the new definition to me is different from the point at which they become ridiculous for someone else. So being called PC isn't always a bad thing.
A good portion of conservatives, more like the vocal online minority, have a habit of dismissing and being offended by liberal progress. At a certain point, they are just as easily offended as the so-called 'social justice warriors'. It's kind of amusing, to watch people get so worked up over the notion that there are more than two genders, then mock others for ever being offended by one of their comments.
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But this type of conservative has a point. There are some progressive causes even I must object to. For one, Apple has apparently decided that its gun emoji is too violent and will replace it with a squirt gun. There is also a small group, by no means representative of the left, arguing that Pokemon Go is ableist since it requires players to walk outside. And in general, I see the terms 'racist', 'sexist' 'bigot' thrown around way too often. Each era has its own political smear words; here are ours. A portion of the left does indeed get offended, often for other people's sake, too easily.
So I understand why people complain about how everyone's politically correct and that they aren't allowed to speak their minds anymore. But certain conservatives are just as likely to take offense at progressives' arguments. Somehow, they claim Hillary Clinton only won the nomination because she's a woman- not to say that the primary was entirely fair, just that the results don't have much to do with gender. Then there's the straight pride movement, reacting to actual gay pride. In both cases, progress for a marginalized group met a backlash from conservatives who think that group is being unfairly favored. Most of the issues that can offend the right center around the notion that certain groups of people- racial minorities, women, LGBT people, and so on- are not at a disadvantage, and any claim that they are is politically correct. At some point, genuine belief in meritocracy and personal responsibility morphs into a belief that if any sort of minority succeeds, it has only done so through politically correct favoritism.
Honestly, we just need to talk to each other more. It becomes harder to be offended by someone else's viewpoint when you understand it better. I have vowed myself to focus less on attacking different views and more on asking why that person believes what they do. It might also help to have more than two major political parties, since third parties give us more choices and less polarization. Ranked voting could thus improve our national conversation. But in the end civil discourse is the only way for us to not get so offended by everything.
