Profanity--It's Not Just For Sailors Anymore

Or farewell to the ingenue, that naive, innocent girl of yesteryear who would no more let a *bleep* pass her lips than . . . well I couldn't say that out loud! Because the Beaver has many teen friends I have been made aware of this phenomenon which I liken to as a brazen assault on the civility of the spoken word.

What I hear, and see in printed messages, is a new model of language filled with conversational flatulence of extreme expletives, obscenities, vulgarities and all manner of guttural language.

What these young adults aren't aware of is that what comes out of the mouth is a reflection of what goes on in the head; it reveals the character of the speaker. What becomes obvious is that they are mere lemmings following the group over the proverbial cliff; not realizing that cursing becomes a habit and the pandemic potty mouth soon becomes a vitriolic toxic waste dump not easily cleaned up.

Please don't tell me this is all a harmless phase teens go through. This is a reflection of our culture being manifested in our young people. And the words reflect an attitude--a kind of pathos, towards mankind. I followed the written account of a particular young lady(?) and she was very proud of her mean-spirited attack on a peer launched with no substance other than a volley of hostile and crude words. The scary part was that she knew she had made him feel small but excused her own behavior by saying he deserved it.

Again, for all of you who use profanity, and consider it harmless I ask: What good does it do? I'll agree that it is a part of our lexicon and for use in extreme situations. I can think of one account when Ward used it to great affect. His men were not accustomed to hearing cursing from their commander; when after being up for almost two days without rations, hearing that a superior officer was going to hold said rations, this young officer let loose with a string of expletives that he didn't even know he possessed! The superior officer apologized, sent the rations, and told Ward never to do that again.

But for the current generation of epidemic potty mouths what are we to do? There is help and I found it online! Look at Cuss Control Academy or pick up Cuss Control: The Book, by Jim O'Connor. Still not convinced? Look at this excerpt from the site:


What's Wrong With Swearing?

Swearing Imposes a Personal Penalty
It gives a bad impression
It makes you unpleasant to be with
It endangers your relationships
It's a tool for whiners and complainers
It reduces respect people have for you
It shows you don't have control
It's a sign of a bad attitude
It discloses a lack of character
It's immature
It reflects ignorance
It sets a bad example

Swearing is Bad for Society
It contributes to the decline of civility
It represents the dumbing down of America
It offends more people than you think
It makes others uncomfortable
It is disrespectful of others
It turns discussions into arguments
It can be a sign of hostility
It can lead to violence

Swearing corrupts the English language
It's abrasive, lazy language
It doesn't communicate clearly
It neglects more meaningful words
It lacks imagination
It has lost its effectiveness


Even if your friends and associates commonly use cuss words, you will be perceived as more mature, intelligent, articulate, polite, considerate and pleasant if you control your language and the emotions that typically prompt expletives. You can choose to have character and class, or be considered rude, crude and crass.