>I can't help but look at this, and the rise of the micro-aggression culture and see links
That's funny, because my first thought was the kneejerk reactions on Reddit to anything that could be construed as "SJW." This phenomenon doesn't pick a side.
> There's something odd that's happened, where opinion and niceness has become sacrosanct, beyond truth.
That could be an adaptation to the information (and globalisation) age. Since you're more likely to meet with more (and more different) opinions and have no way of instantly checking the facts behind them ,with the sea of information available, you have to first be nice. You are forced to accept the possibility that your opinion might be wrong because you can not possibly have access to all of the facts.
I don't say this about America, but about people in general. We care far more about our egos and not challenging the beliefs we hold, than we do about being correct.
For myself, I can't help but look at this, and the rise of the micro-aggression culture and see links. There's something odd that's happened, where opinion and niceness has become sacrosanct, beyond truth. It's a tribalistic, and ultimately dangerous thing.