Wow, you lived in an America that never existed? How'd you do that? Uttering some things has always been treason, and speech with the intent to cause mayhem or harm to a person(s) body or reputation (via falsity), has always been illegal. Not only that, but you don't actually get legally punished for being non-pc, but that doesn't mean there are no consequences. If you piss off you're employer, you can be fired. Same with voters, they don't have to vote for you and can decide not to based on what you say. Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. You can't run down the street babbling like a lunatic and expect people to see you the same way as before (unless this is a regular sort of thing you do). PC is basically just an attempt at standardized politeness. Like how it's fine to call someone white or caucasian (even if they aren't from the Caucasus for some reason), but not pasty cracker-a$$ b!tchboy.
