Politically Correct... No thinking!

I was thinking about people's attitude about taking offense. We're in a society today where everything can be taken the wrong way. People are too easily offended. It's a shame how this society now has to cater to everybody's feelings. Look at welfare, "racism", religion, politics... they can no longer be expressed because people get hurt. I say it's time that everybody just SUCKS IT UP and DEALS WITH IT. I find myself having to think before I talk because of potentially offending others. My thoughts can no longer be expressed because regardless... somebody is going to get hurt. I view life this way, "If you're looking to be offended, you're going to be offended". People have made comments to me that I could have been hurt by, but instead I have made a learning experience. I have found that with my opinions, people have opposing views. This is what makes humanity so great. If there wasn't opposition, there wouldn't be progress. Each opinion allows us to view things differently. Most comments are made out of ignorance towards a certain topic. Take religion for an example. One might say that a certain church is wrong, which leads to three different outcomes for the participants of that church. 1. they don't say anything.... no defense, they just take it as it is. 2. they take offense... potentially creating a strong conflict and hatred between the two parties. 3. They take the comment, defend their point, and try to see both sides of the problem. Personally the third option is the best. People then can learn views and make decisions based on their thoughts. Many battles are based off ignorance, but if people can defend their beliefs, rather than taking offense, minds can be changed and people are smarter than they left off. I think that if people SPEAK THEIR MINDS, DON'T TAKE OFFENSE, and BE RESPECTFUL, the world would be in a much better state.