This trend has been going on for some time now, but I never truly experienced this way of thinking until I myself went to college and interacted with people of this nature.  Based on my experience in college so far, being "PC" doesn't to seem to be as big as of trend as its made out to be.  That being said, I do live and go to college in a red state and people who are "PC" typically align with the democratic way of thinking.  However, you can still find this way of thinking anywhere you go, especially on a college campus.  Now while I personally don't disagree with trying to watch what you say out in public or with treating people fairly, the extent to which it is being taken has been getting out of hand.  People seem to get upset about anything and everything.  A lot of times, I can be in a simple conversation with people and can make an innocent joke, and somehow someone will get offended by it.  They will dig as deep as they can and grasp at straws to find something that can possibly be offense and demoralize you for it.  Most the time, it's not even anything involving them that they can be offended about.  They are offended at the idea that something offensive was thought of or said.  To me, it seems ridiculous and out of hand.  

The first article, "Obama: P.C Culture on Campus Leads to "Coddled" Students", tells of Barrack Obama's opinion on how he feels about the PC police's tolerance for other ideas.  His exact quote from a speech given was: "I've heard of some college campuses where they don't want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative. Or they don't want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African Americans, or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women," he said, according to The Hill.

"I've got to tell you, I don't agree with that either. I don't agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of views."  This was taken from a speech he gave on live television and that was recorded and uploaded to the internet.  The article describes what Obama said for the most part.

The second article is from the opinion section of Forbes.com, and is written by a Forbes staff member that covers the economics and politics section of the site.  He tells of his own personal experience in college.  He talks about how he noticed when the "PC Culture" really started to get big in the 90s, but had seen it before that date, and has seen it become what it is today.  He talks about how he first experienced it in college, and how it is still a big thing on college campuses today.  He then continues on to talk about the current events that have happened with the "PC Police", like the University of Missouri students led a strike by the football team to eventually get their president to resign over incidents that the president could not control, such as another student saying something of racist nature to another student.  

The third article is from EliteDaily.com, and is called, "It's Killing Society: 5 Reasons Why Being Politically Correct Is Ruining Us".  The article describes how the author feels on the matter.  He expresses his concerns on the matter and what he sees happen all over.  He offers up his own five explanations for why it is negatively impacting our society.  Those reasons are: It stifles dialogue, repeat offenders are running rampant, it's making us dumber, it's making us more stubborn (and ignorant), and it compromises freedom of speech.  He describes how it goes both way and that we should all watch what we say, but be open to different points of view.  He also expresses how it is impossible to please everyone, but being modest and honest is something all people can appreciate.  

So is being "PC" truly bad for society?  Well it would seem a vast majority believe it is.  However, there is a significant number of people who do think it is benefitting society.  Lots of people believe that being politically correct is helping expand free speech and promoting a better America, where people's feeling are hurt less.  However, as you can tell, the other side disagrees with those claims.  They argue that it prohibits free speech and the freedom of expression.  That it is an impossible goal to reach for, and frankly, isn't a goal that is desirable.  A world where nothing can be criticized because of the fear of hurting someone's feelings, is a world where progress slows down tremendously, or possibly even stops.  That is a world a lot of people, including myself, do not want to live in.  
