The political correctness (PC) movement is about respect.

A few years ago, when I was introduced to this growing movement, I was excited to be living in a time when acceptance was beginning to thrive, and a person who is different needn't worry so much about being cast out from society. Nowadays, many transgender people are able to live with their preferred pronouns and not receive excessive harmful harassment. Homosexual? No problem, there are dating apps, clubs, entire industries supporting your lifestyle. Acceptance has come a long way with the PC movement.

The PC movement is about respect. But that's only what we're told.

In reality, acceptance is beginning to regress.

"But how could that be?" you ask, eyes wide open, exasperated. "So many people are able to--"

No. The PC movement was initially based on respect for those who are different, but forgets to account for respecting everybody else. In many circles, the phrase "white cis scum" is passed around almost nonchalantly and un-ironically. Many millennials who are white feel as though they need to apologize for any transgressions by their ancestors. If somebody accidentally forgets to use a preferred pronoun, it becomes a personal attack instead of a simple accident. If somebody follows a religion that shuns a certain lifestyle, they are automatically labeled as bigoted and a horrible human being.

Does this not take away from the very idea of respect?

As PC culture evolves, it is becoming more and more a movement based around disrespect. It shuns people who are not PC. People who are PC are automatically morally and intellectually superior. If one does not use politically correct language, or is Christian, or has some unpopular opinion, they are regarded as stupid, stubborn, and the cause of all evil.

The politically correct movement is now a movement that disrespects those who do not agree. It puts those who are PC on a pedestal that allows them to disrespect those who are not. PC people can be ignorant about other lifestyles and criticize them, but if somebody does not recognize the PC lifestyle, then they are open to criticism. Hypocritical, no?

PC was once intended to protect against the disadvantaged. However, it is now being used as a tool to attack others. Instead of being "politically correct," would it not hurt to just be respectful? To be at peace?

If the evolution of equality is to continue, we need to begin removing fancy labels from simple ideas. This might be criticized, but we need to remove the idea of "gender equality," "political correctness," and the like. Because, at the core, we are all human, and regardless of any beliefs or lifestyles, people deserve to be treated with respect, even if those beliefs may be bigoted, even if somebody is an asshole.

Instead of using fancy names, we should just use one: love. Love for others, and an acknowledgment that everybody deserves it.