Surely we are all aware of the First Amendment, and if you are not then you are probably one of the people I am referring to throughout this piece. What happened to freedom of speech? It is nearly impossible to speak freely without at least one person taking offense to what you have to say. We should be able to discuss facts and opinions openly without having to worry about offending someone. Clint Eastwood once said, "I wish America was more concerned about offending God and less concerned about offending people."

We all like to voice our opinions, and the last thing we should have to worry about is offending someone. How did people become so narcissistic to the point where they cannot even tolerate someone's opinion being different than their own? We should not have to start or end a statement with "no offense." We all have the right to our own opinion and being offended does not make you right. You can believe that your opinion is better than someone else's, but that does not mean you are right and the other person's is wrong. Did people forget about respect? Are people too self-absorbed to offer something as simple as respect?

I hope I am not alone on this when I say that I actually enjoy when someone's opinion is different than my own. Rather than taking offense to what they have to say, I try to see things from their perspective. I promise, it will not kill you to open your mind to something new or different. Yes, I truly enjoy when someone shares the same opinions as I do, but sometimes that can be mundane. Disagreement can often be exciting. We should find value in a good debate.

What happened that all of a sudden everyone is offended by the slightest words? It almost seems like people go out of their way to find something to be offended by. It is no one's fault but your own if you are offended.

If you are offended by anything that I have said, I am not sorry. Your offense is not going to change my mind, but it will prove my point. However, I am sorry that you are hurt merely by words. I will pray that you find the strength to realize that people are not intentionally trying to offend you by having different opinions.