To the extent that political correctness has taken away our ability and willingness to laugh at ourselves and our human frailties, I think it has damaged us immeasurably. The road to hell is supposedly paved with good intentions - PC, in excess, may be among them. It disturbs me to see so many people afraid to express themselves for fear of chastisement. At times, especially at institutions of higher learning and in the mass media, it becomes an outright abridgement of the right of free expression. The old "Sticks and stones" admonition of our parents' generation seems to have disappeared in yet another misguided pursuit of utopia. Is book burning next?