This year, our culture has been weirdly obsessed with the concept of political correctness and the pros and cons of being very politically correct. Everywhere you look, people are talking about the “wussification” of America and how our culture is becoming increasingly offended far too easily.

The media has been heavily reporting the rise of ideas like “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings” on college campuses. This helps perpetuate a huge idea: that our politically correct culture is ruining America and ruining the freedom that this country prides itself on. In the name of not being offensive, we are putting ourselves in a bubble.

This idea of political correctness destroying America has become such a widely known issue that Republican presidential candidates such as Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio constantly stress how many of the problems in our nation are because we are “too PC” and “too afraid to offend people.”

The only problem with this hatred of PC culture? We’re fighting an enemy that doesn’t exist.

Now, it’s undeniable that certain college campuses or groups of people are becoming far too PC. Nobody’s opinions should ever be silenced. As a society, our views should be constantly challenged and tested. In this light, the refusal from people to consider other worldviews or to not offend anyone is a bad thing.

The problem comes when we assume that because some places in America are being very PC, every part of America is becoming PC. Throughout this year, I’ve heard constant outrage and fury over how politically correct our culture is becoming, while I’ve met very few people who truly support our culture becoming a sheltered one.

Here’s a thought: Perhaps there have always been groups of students and organizations trying to shelter themselves from other worldviews. People have always been easily offended, and protesting about trivial things. This conflict between being “PC” and being honest has always been an issue in our society. However, the news media and the general public have started cherry picking all stories related to PC culture they can find, to try to frame a narrative that every part of our culture is PC.

It’s a lot easier to focus on the crazy, loud people who don’t want to hear other worldviews than it is to focus on the majority of people who are rational and open to friendly discourse.

While safe spaces and an inability to consider other worldviews are a bad things, I fear that we’re blowing this PC-culture thing out of proportion. Perhaps that when people ask us to do things that don’t coincide with our personal opinions, they are simply trying to be respectful of those who have differing worldviews. There are so many serious issues in the world, and trying to be inclusive toward all people shouldn’t be what our society focuses on hating.

Furthermore, I fear that we are starting to use “not being PC” as an excuse to offend and be offensive. When Donald Trump was called out during a GOP debate for saying insanely misogynist comments about a woman, he blamed the PC culture for the controversy surrounding it. By framing this culture as “too sensitive,” he absolved himself of any blame for his hateful comments.

My suggestion: Let’s not shy away from being honest with our thoughts and opinions. Let’s always fight against a strict PC culture that limits our worldview considerably. However, let’s stop pretending that America has somehow become a hellish nightmare of easily offended people. Let’s stop pretending that anytime someone is offended, they are simply “too PC.” And most importantly, let’s focus on the issues that actually matter.