As a country, we’ve waged a lot of wars. International and domestic, won and kind of won. We’ve fought a war of independence, a war against ourselves, a world war.

This campaign season, the right has brought war-waging to a new level- figurative. It is impossible to watch a GOP debate without hearing battle cries against the “politically correct.”

The argument is fairly simple. PC culture keeps people from talking about the real issues. While carefully trying to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes, no one takes any real action. This is true to a certain extent.

There are many issues facing our country that get skirted around because of the stigma associated with them. Mental health reform is just one example. People are not comfortable with the topic so they choose to ignore it. The political correctness veiling these issues acts as an obstacle in the legislative process. It is therefore admirable when a candidate can pull the veil back and force people to take a hard look at the problem.

For example, while I disagree with Governor Chris Christie about many things, his call to action regarding the heroin addiction epidemic was probably one of the best things he did all campaign season.

However, this so-called war on political correctness is not as noble as some people would like to think. In fact, in the guise of honesty, many candidates have simply used a disdain for PC culture as an excuse to make rude and outrageous claims.

Yes, Mr. Trump, I’m looking at you.

I’m not going to try to list all of the ridiculous and, frankly, offensive things that Trump has said over the course of his campaign. But I think we can all remember the highlights:

• All Mexicans are criminals and rapists (though some are nice people!)
• John McCain is weak for having been a prisoner of war
• Carly Fiorina’s face will keep her from being elected
• Megyn Kelly is a bimbo for asking a serious question about gender discrimination
• All Muslim refugees should be banned from entering the United States

There are many, many more examples, a few too vulgar to mention. And yet the most shocking part of it all is that, despite having said all of these things, Trump is still leading polls. He even managed to win himself a primary.

What’s his secret? He makes people believe that they are with him in his honorable crusade against tedious political correctness. He taps into frustration against government inefficiency to justify every obnoxious thing he says from behind a podium or his Twitter avi. And people cheer him on, believing that his attitude is revolutionary and will Make America Great Again.

The way I see it, though, is that Donald Trump is just a jerk with a big mouth and a lot of money.

Sorry if that isn’t politically correct.