Too Many Contradictions

My personal philosophy of life leads me towards not being either pro or against anything. I try to be as neutral  in judging customs as Switzerland is in politics. But my neutrality does not prevent me from asking myself questions about some new strange concepts in regard to how to behave, how to talk, even how you should name people and things. I don't intend to go into details, but I find it rather strange that people who do a certain job should have their qualification changed in order to make it seem more dignified (as if not all honest jobs were dignified!). Names of ethnicities have been changed as if mentioning the areas of provenance were offensive. A simple gesture that shows affection is considered dangerous. On the other hand, in the name of "freedom of expression", people can offend other people (see some acclaimed comedians), can make fun of them, openly despise or libel them without  ever being reprimanded. I feel that nowadays we are living in a pit of contradictions. On one side you have the ultra traditional (kind of fundamentalists), who see wrong-doing in almost anything (Maybe they should learn to be a little more tolerant). On the other side, we have those who preach and demand extreme freedom, who want to be allowed to do and say whatever they want, forgetting other people's right to be respected and accepted as they are. I remember a definition of freedom I read when I was still in school: "Freedom means to be able to do whatever we want without infringing on the rights of others." I can't help noticing that - meanwhile - a lot of water has flown under the bridges.....