Sigmund Freud is credited with the quote: “The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.” 

He was an egghead. But if you called him one in these sensitive times there is a good chance you might get hurled off campus. Even gently tossing what you might consider an innocent comment can get you in Dutch.  

Oops. Probably shouldn’t say that, either, even though it is not intended to marginalize anybody. Intention, it seems, is beside the point. 

One of the most common expressions people my age hear is “you can’t say that anymore.” The range of words, phrases, songs, jokes, emblems and activities that are now considered too insensitive for public consumption is amazing. 

Nothing is allowed that is in the least bit insulting or defamatory or that so much as implies derision.  

Except at the Oscars. Or if Jimmy Kimmel or Bill Maher or Conan O’Brien say it. Then almost any kind of verbal assault is considered clever and cutting edge.  

There has always been a double-standard about what constitutes an insult, with those of a certain position in society casually dismissing those who are not. I’ve known sophisticated journalists who would find any reference to the color of someone’s skin to be totally off limits freely refer to certain clubs as “redneck bars that play hillbilly music.”  

Not that I was ever really bothered by that kind of slur. I think I would rather be called a redneck publicly than thought of as one privately by those who consider me socially defective. 

I do find it curious though that many who have attained positions of status and privilege would choose to insult others because they work for a living. That’s where the term redneck comes from – the genteel folk sat on their shady porches and made snickering remarks about the sunburned necks of laborers. 

Kinda makes you want to throw a rock at somebody doesn’t it? 

There is another variation on that theme that I find to be even more bothersome. That’s the current snickering remark “you want fries with that?” People use it to take a shot at those they see as losers, implying that they are on a downward path in life that might end up with a job in the fast-food industry.  

Like there’s some shame in working. I did my time with a spatula, my wife worked for Burger King in her younger days, and both our godchildren have worn paper hats and served meals in greasy bags. That snarky “you want fries with that” is an insult to an honest job and an insult to some of the only kids out there who are doing something useful for society – one of the few things a kid might be doing that has to be done right. 

One of the others, of course, is the military. A common topic when veterans get together is bringing back the draft and making everybody do a couple of years. How about extending that notion? Fast food is so necessary that it could be seen as vital to the national defense. 

Why not make fast-food jobs compulsory, with everybody having a two-year obligation? 

To make it more palatable, we could offer college credit.  It would be educational, after all. Working the counter at McDonald’s will teach you twice as much about psychology as writing research papers on Freud – plus lessons in economics and public relations.  

It might even teach you a little respect for real work, not to mention some respect for those who have to do it for you.