Political Correctness Gags Free Speech, New Poll Finds

A vast majority of Americans fear political correctness is destroying free speech in the United States, as many reveal they don't even bother expressing their beliefs anymore, a new poll shows.

In a sweeping survey of 2,300 adults, the Cato Institute also found that liberals are more likely to speak their minds than conservatives and that minorities are less offended by microaggression than college presidents who impose speech codes on students.

Seventy-one percent of Americans believe political correctness has shut down discussion on important issues, and 58 percent avoid talking about controversial subjects, according to Cato's 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey.

The poll also found:

• 51 percent of liberals says it is OK to punch Nazis.
• 53 percent of Republicans favor revoking citizenship of flag-burners.
• 51 percent of Democrats would make it a crime to refuse to use the preferred pronouns of transgendered people.
• 65 percent of Republicans would fire professional football players for refusing to stand for the national anthem.
• 80 percent of liberals say it is hate speech to call for the deportation of illegal immigrants.

The survey also found that most blacks and Hispanics are not offended by many phrases categorized as microaggression. For example, 77 percent of Hispanics see nothing wrong if someone tells them they speak good English.

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