P.C.’s problems become even more acute when the Left insists on smuggling larger agendas into what should be a polite conversation about what constitutes politeness. There’s remarkable overlap between conservative and liberal complaints about the culture. But when traditionalists talk the language of decency and morality, the Left hears bigotry and theocracy. And when liberals talk about sensitivity and white privilege, the Right hears something totalitarian. The result is that the two sides hold separate conversations. And when they do talk to each other, each side is listening for hidden agendas.