What is free speech? Free speech, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.”

In the Constitution, it is stated as “Congress shall make no law...abridging freedom of speech.”

Well, what does this mean? I asked around (unscientifically) and answers included:

“The right to be able to speak your mind despite what other people may think.”

“Being able to express your opinion without getting penalized.”

“Expression; options; entitlement to opinion”

“Free speech means having the freedom to express cultural and political ideas without any oppression; however, it is also knowing that freedom of speech comes with consequences if the expression of such ideas are offensive.”

Free speech is a right given to Americans by the First Amendment. It is something that not all people in the world have and should be appreciated.

But what exactly does it entail? Are there limitations? That there are has been increasingly prevalent in the recent months.

Here are the things included in the right:

• Symbolic free speech (burning of the flag)
• The right not to speak
• Peaceful protest

Freedom of speech does not include:

• Actions that would harm others (Shouting “FIRE!” in a crowded theatre)
• Making or distributing obscene materials.
• Students printing articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration.

The past election cycle witnessed many questions about free speech as the issues of flag burning, offensive words, and dirty campaigning reared their heads.

But today a real problem exists. The political correctness movement has arrived, especially on college campuses, and it is reaching insanity. Where is the line drawn? Or, more importantly, who decides what is wrong or right?

Why is it okay for a conservative to be called a Nazi, racist, xenophobe, homophobic, a KKK member, sexist or any number of offensive terms, but extreme caution in a classroom not to use ‘trigger words’ or words that could possibly cause one person, somewhere in the world, a bit of discomfort?

Freedom of speech is being compromised daily and in more ways than we realize. In no way, am I condoning the use of free speech to hurt anyone. But life isn’t fair and speech designed to avoid any possibility of offending anyone isn’t free.

The problem is that people are focusing more on the single ‘trigger’ word instead of the whole sentence.

Students on liberal campuses (which, to generalize, is most campuses) are given a tough choice: to speak their mind and possibly offend someone with their words, or be silent and fall victim to the political correctness movement and choose to use a small selection of words so not a single person will be offended.

So, what’s wrong with offending someone? No one can possibly think that in the real world everyone will cater to your every belief and need and tiptoe around you so that under no circumstances is there any chance you will be offended. If you do, please let me know because you need a reality check.

The world is not fair. People are going to say things that you disagree with. At my university, I actually witnessed a professor say she would not engage in dialogue with a student that voted Trump because of the ‘moral transgression’ that occurred for someone (nearly half the voting public, mind you) to have the nerve to vote for Trump.

When did opposing beliefs become so poisonous? What is this country coming to? Are we in a place where soon it will be taboo to have an opinion other than the liberal, politically correct one? What can be done to combat the group-think that reinforces the notion that one’s belief is the only one possible?

Here’s what can be done. We can make sure we don’t conform to the increasingly growing demands of the political correctness movement and don’t stop speaking our minds.

We can continue to honor the right that is granted by the First Amendment and what our Founding Fathers wanted by promoting discourse and discussion among all people to better our country.