Another way of looking at this could be that being offended means we care about something. Obviously certain things matter more than others and getting offended about certain things may not warrant the attention it brings of being "offended" but being offended can actually be a good thing provided we know what we're being offended about.
Also, "people are so easily offended" because there is so much diversity. Think about all the most popular offenses, which happen in religion, gender orientation, political stances, basically any touchy subject is bound to open a fresh wound or stab at an old one. On one hand I think it's good we have diversity in opinion but on the other hand if we were to not be offended, that would make us a little less human.
So it's really a health mixture between understanding that there is so much opinion out there we cannot possibly please everyone and to not patronize or demean others who believe something different than us. Basically we need little bit of wisdom on everyone's part. It really comes down to how individuals respond to difference in opinion. It is intuitive to be hostile to new opinion but if we were receptive to difference than it's like spreading love instead of hate.