Offendedness: The Barometer of Acceptable Discourse

Keving DeYoung makes some interesting points over at the First Things's blog:
http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2010/01/why-are-we-so-offended-all-the-time/

Why debate theology or politics or economics if you can win your audience by making the other guys look like meanies?

There’s nothing like being offended to nail your opponent. No one wants to look like a jerk (ok, maybe Donald Trump does). No one wants to come off as a free-wheeling dealer of pain. As a result, we end up held hostage by the possible taking of offense. It’s rarely asked whether such offense is warranted or whether it even matters. No, if there is offense, there must be an offender. And offenders are always wrong.
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As offendedness becomes the barometer of acceptable discourse, we can expect further marginalization of Christian beliefs.

So buck up brothers and sisters. Most often in this country, we are not victims because of our faith. Let every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the world be crushed to (phony) emotional pieces when their ideas are scrutinized. We can chart a different course and trust that our beliefs can handle Keith Olberman’s disapproval. We have no reason to be anxious, every reason to be joyful, and fewer reasons than we think to be offended.