OPINION | Barry Richard: Political Correctness is Harming the Country

A new Fox News poll says most of us are sick and tired of political correctness, and that we believe it is having a detrimental effect on the country.

Sixty-eight percent say political correctness has gone too far. That's up from 66 percent in September 2017. Only 19 percent are not concerned about political correctness. The poll says 46 percent believe political or business leaders "frequently" make bad decisions because they are trying to be politically correct. Thirty-four percent say it happens at least "sometimes."

These concerns are shared by a majority of Democrats and Republicans, though Republicans are much more inclined to see political correctness as a problem.

An example of PC impacting business might be Starbucks closing it's 8,000 locations to subject their employees to diversity training. Examples of government PC gone awry could include canceling Halloween or Christmas activities in public schools, and establishing sanctuary cities. There are many more. Just check out this video (which we'd drop directly in here, but it contains a NSFW image in the thumbnail).

Part of the appeal of the Trump candidacy to so many was the outright rejection of political correctness. Many Americans are offended by the cleansing of our culture out of fear of offending someone.

Political correctness is a way for the well-intended to make all perfect and equal for everyone. It is not and never will be. It does so by forcing the wishes of a few on the masses, while infringing on the rights and against the will of the majority.

It is also a way to control people's behavior by threatening them with character-besmirching tags such as racist, xenophobe and anti-gay. Political correctness is dumb in most cases, but it is also a mighty powerful political tool. It can be combated, though, by not fearing the PC police. Just refuse to play that game.

I am one of the 68 percent who believes PC is out of control. In our quest to be PC, we've lost the ability to laugh at ourselves and be comfortable with each other.

Do you agree that political correctness is harming America?

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.