How much do you believe in being politically correct?

Back in the good old days when I was growing up, people were more or less free to speak their minds and hardly anyone was offended. With the passage of time, peoples attitude have changed drastically and something called political correctness has gained control of our lives.

These days it's like a minefield to be honest since some people can be so sensitive and I really hate all this politically correctness which is in vogue these days. At the end of the day, if you are not a sexist, prejudiced or racist, in any way then I just do not see why you should not be allowed to say what you want. While I was living in USA, I did experience a few racist remarks towards me and I didn’t get offended by it at that time because it was plain to see that the man who was spewing this garbage was a victim of the illegal Mexican infiltration which really did take away a lot of jobs in his area.

Usually I don’t get all worked up and offended by certain jokes since these are really just jokes and don’t mean any real harm at times. If certain people go out of their way to be malicious about somebody, then that is really unfair and the people at whom these jibes are aimed at are justified in getting offended. But if you are just joking with people about certain things or want to get something off your chest then I just simply do not see why you should not be allowed to do it.

If you to ask me for my honest and unbiased opinion on this subject, I would probably say that all this political correctness has gone simply too far. I am all for proper rules/ regulation and I am 100% against all types of bullying and discrimination but I can't help thinking that it has swung the wrong way and if you happen to say something which might offend anyone, you end up being heavily punished or even worst still sued for a slip of the tongue or just for speaking your mind. If someone is such a little coward and has their feelings hurt over a harmless comment then they should grow a backbone and learn not to be so easily offended.

In the end of the day, one comes to realize that these days the situation is really fluid. When you can freely speak your mind and when you have to hold your tongue really depends on the situation which you are confronted with. If I am amongst friends or people with whom I am comfortable with, I would speak out freely about whatever is on my mind knowing that we all think more or less on the same lines. If there are strangers or people whom I do not know well enough, I refrain from making any comments which might be taken the wrong way. I have learned the hard way that sometimes it is better to err on the safe side.