What is political correctness supposed to do?

I don't even know how to approach this topic!  Not a day passes where you don 't 
hear a public someone apologizing for something they said that upset some group 
somewhere. Geez!
So our collective freedom of speech is under major attack. Why? Does demanding 
that folks in the public eye make sure they say the "right" thing help us 
understand them better or feel better about who they are?  People have opinions 
about other people. Always have and always will. Isn't it better to encourage 
discourse rather than repress it?   Do we really think that "political 
correctness" fixes what's underneath? I don't know about you but  I want to know 
what people really think.  And they have a right to their own opinion. That 
doesn't mean that you don't think before you speak. You don't call people names.  
You follow the rules and etiquette of public and private discourse.  
Beyond that, people are entitled to have opinions and to express them. The 
demands for public apologies are starting to feel like a page out of Puritan New 
England!   And are on-demand apologies really sincere?  People who express their 
opinion give the rest of us something to think about.  Today the owner of 
California Chrome- the Triple Crown contender who lost the Belmont Stakes- was 
apologizing for his remarks following the loss. Maybe he's right maybe it's not 
fair for horses who have not run in all three races to be able to run in the 
final race at Belmont.  Geez! Let's talk about it before you beat the guy up for 
saying what he thought. 
I have come to call all this "dumbing down the discourse".