I'll Be Politically Incorrect if I Want to, and There's Nothing You Can Do About It

I was talking to my mom yesterday about some of the crazy changes our society is currently undergoing. One of those changes is the effort to avoid offending anyone, anywhere, for any reason. She recently listened to a radio talk show that discussed the new rules for what is allowed in public school textbooks these days. Some of the things that are now forbidden are absolutely ludicrous. Here's a list of banned items:

1. No pictures of pioneers where the woman is riding in the covered wagon and the man is walking. It alludes to the idea that women are the weaker sex.
   
2. The word "snowman: is forbidden. It must be replaced by "snow person."
   
3. We cannot refer to older people as seniors or elderly. They must be called an "elderly person."
4. It is improper to say "scarecrow." They must be referred to as a "straw person." (I have no idea what their reasoning is for this).
   
5. Satan is not allowed to be discussed. I suppose they're denying his existence, just as they have denied the existence of God.
   
6. If a man is depicted in a stressful situation, he cannot appear to be calm. He must appear to be stressed out. Depicting him as calm encourages the belief that men are less emotional than women.

The list goes on and on, but I think I've gotten my point across. It seems to me like our freedom of speech is absolutely being threatened, and what I'd like to know is who the crap comes up with these stupid rules. I mean honestly, what difference does it make if I say "snowman" or "snow person"? Who cares. I suppose snowmen can be females, but honestly, they're inanimate objects. Who gives a crap? And the fact that they've banned historic photos of pioneer families. That's just ridiculous. Go ahead and rewrite history, but make sure to leave out all the facts. All that matters is that we're politically correct. Good grief. I really don't know what else to say. I understand that it's important to be conscious of people's feelings, but if it means changing my entire vocabulary in an effort to prevent me from ever causing offense, then I say screw it. I'm not sure who gave these people the authority to come up with these new rules, but I certainly didn't, and I have no intention of following them.