Are people today really "offended" by alternative viewpoints and facts? Perhaps, not.

Anyone who watches network television so-called “news” programs will be habitually told that a peculiar group of Americans claims to be offended.  One day after United Airlines bumped an Asian doctor from a flight, protests broke out in Chicago with claims that the actions of United Airlines had “offended” Asians. 

The comical and disturbing “Women’s March” in Washington, following the inauguration of President Trump, resulted in manifold claims of offended women who detest the president.  During the 2016 presidential campaign, many liberals and Hispanics claimed to be offended by remarks Donald Trump made about La Raza judge, Gonzalo Curiel.  Why?  La Raza advocates for open borders, and candidate Trump campaigned on reestablishing immigration law.  Although Trump‘s concerns were merited, questioning Judge Curiel’s ability to remain impartial in a lawsuit against Trump University was characterized as offensive and anti-Hispanic. 

At the Democrat National Convention last year, an offended Muslim immigration attorney, Kazir Kahn, who worked with the U.S. State Department to expedite the entry of Islamists into the United States, arrogantly shook a copy of the U.S. Constitution toward television cameras, suggesting that he held a position of intellectual and moral superiority.  Those who agreed with Kahn were suggesting that a policy of restricting entry into the U.S. to refugees who cannot be properly vetted is offensive. 

Recent news reports have featured Hispanics who live along the U.S. border with Mexico, state that they are offended by President Trump’s commitment to  enforcement of immigration laws and building the border wall.  Enforcement of the law is now characterized as offensive.  

Now, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia is moving to remove statues of Confederate Civil War Generals, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.  In a recent CBS News report, Jan Crawford Greenburg asked an opponent of the measure, “What about people who say that they are offended by the statues?”  Today, people are claiming to be offended by their own history, largely as a result of the ignorant belief that the Civil War was fought to protect slavery. 

In his amusing way of stating the obvious, radio talk-show host, Rush Limbaugh, used to say, “Words mean things.”  Those who claim to be offended by history, alternative political opinions, the free exercise of religion or enforcement of law are wrong in their claims of offense.  But such is the prevalent trend of overstating every issue.  People may be irritated, disgusted, angered, upset or troubled by the remarks of others, but offended, they are not.  An offense is a personal slight or insult--not a general statement, however distasteful one perceives it to be.  We live in a culture in which how people subjectively feel about an issue is routinely given more importance that the objective facts. 

America is in danger of tyranny when people are not free to express their views for fear of violent reactions by others.  Indeed, self-righteous political correctness is imposed upon citizens by intimidation to silence.  Dangerous and sinister liberal and socialist ideologies that abridge individual freedom must be challenged at every opportunity.  Contrary to the protestations of the godless left, freedom of speech was not codified in the First Amendment for the exclusive purpose of protecting profane, perverse and anti-American or anti-Christian viewpoints. 

Each of us has the ability to choose whether or not to be offended by the opinions of others.  Militant Democrats, however, habitually choose to be offended by opinions that they neither approve nor accept.  With each passing day, liberals demonstrate increasing ignorance of American history, and exceeding belligerence toward reason and fact. 

Freedom is fragile and under constant assault from all sides.  In order for personal liberty to survive another decade, tyranny of thought and speech must be challenged and defeated.  America’s founders were zealous for personal and religious freedom, but today’s leftists are equally fervent in their quest to impose their opinions and agenda upon others.  Freedom of conscience is the first freedom, because without it, no other has any value.

Our friends and neighbors who choose to be offended by the legitimate enforcement of law, the sensible opinions of others and political or religious views they don’t like, would do well to recall the admonition of the late comedian, Joan Rivers, who was fond of telling her audiences, “Oh, grow up!”