Observance
There is a prevalent practice among us which is so out of place. It is the use of offensive language — profanity. There was a time when the uttering of strong and violent oaths, the use of profanity, was more commonly associated with questionable places and people — or at least was a part of tense or even dangerous situations — but somehow or other it seems now to have become a thoughtless casual custom. You may hear it sometimes in the most unexpected places and from the most unexpected people, both old and young, both male and female.
Frequently those who use profanity are simply careless; some are self-consciously angry; others are defiantly offensive. Sometimes these harsh expressions are heard from those who earnestly want to give strength to what they are saying, and use this mistaken means of doing it. Often when a person feels called upon to use profanity in order to emphasize words, you rather suspect that somehow she/he lacks conviction, that he/she feels some weakness in what she/he is saying and tries to cover up by the use of an overdose of bad language — like trying to kill a bad flavor with heavy seasoning, or an offensive odor with strong perfume.
A simple truth does not need the support of bad language. Aside from religious and moral considerations, the common use of profanity does much to weaken our language. He who accompanies almost everything he says with a profane word(s), he who attempts to blast his way through with obscene or irreverent or profane speech, has weakened his strength of expression, and when he really wants to impress someone with the gravity or importance truly he is reavealing that he has no adequate verbal ammunition left.
At best, profanity is in bad taste; at worst, it is a grave offense. Scarcely would it seem consistent that we should pray for help, for the protection of our loved ones, for the preservation of our lives, for peace, for our daily needs, and then go about profaning the name of that God whom we have called upon for these things or using, what my grandmother called, “gutter language." “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” (Deuteronomy 5:11.) Surely we can cease this thoughtless and offensive practice.
Insight
During the election season a British newspaper said that Kamala Harris is “on track to be the sweariest president in U.S. history,” (The Telegraph) recounting the vice president’s history of public cursing, including some words that she admits she has been told not to say in interviews. Of course, we have witnessed the same with President Trump.
Swearing is often associated with anger, which puts Harris and Trump’s colorful vocabulary at odds with their persona of positivity, joy and happy days ahead. It also might put them at odds with some of the voters they were attempting to court, who might rather not have a president given to firing off an expletive to make a point.
It is the kind of language that might have rankled a large number of voters in the past, and could have been opportunity for Republicans to call her out on it — except for the fact that many politicians aren’t much better. Last year, writing for National Review, Charles C.W. Cooke wrote a column critical of Joe Biden that was built around an expletive. Megyn Kelly is among prominent conservative personalities who curses freely on her podcast, which airs during the day, a time when many parents may have young children with them. Kelly has said of her post-Fox News freedom, “I (expletive) love the swearing” — and many of her guests clearly do, too.
In fact, people who object to profanity in public — and yes, we still exist — may be concluding at this point that the battle is lost, that the vulgarians are no longer at the door, but have moved in and are doing their laundry.
A Harris poll found that 68% of the oldest Americans — those 65 and older — say hearing profanity in public bothers them “a lot” or “some,” but most young Americans aren’t troubled by it. Nearly three-quarters of the youngest adults said profanity use doesn’t bother them at all, or only a little — which helps to explain why Harris got a laugh at her “kick that _____ door down” remark, and praise from the author of a book about the history of swearing.
If swearing is what enlivens a boring speech, best not let the kids stay up and listen.
Personally, I prefer to live in a world where a speech is made interesting by the ideas expressed, not by the expletives inserted. And that goes for speech on the internet as well.
Southern Standard contributor Cordell Crawford can be contacted at crawfordcordell@yahoo.com.
