As a society we cuss too much.
I am not squeamish about profanity – I can curse like a wounded Marine when the spirit moves me. However, when we use “four-letter” words at the least provocation, we do our language a disfavor.
When you first encounter spicy food, it’s quite a shock. The first time you try the El Diablo sauce, your mouth feels like a set for The Towering Inferno. A couple more times, and you have adjusted. However, if you use the hottest sauce too much, soon your taste buds become dulled, and you have to use hotter-than-hot sauce to taste anything.
So it is with profanity. The occasional f-bomb and s-bomb and other bombs are fine. If you use them only now and then, they can definitely liven up a conversation. However, when every third or fourth word out of your mouth is one that you wouldn’t learn on Sesame Street, soon the bleepable words lose their oomph. One or two oaths here and there are fine, but too many and they become bland.
Probably every language has its no-no words. They have a purpose, namely, to help blow off steam. Scientific studies have shown that swearing can actually help ease pain. That is why you cut loose with some PG or PG-13 rated language when you stub your toe or hammer your thumb. And that is all the more reason to cut back on your use of oaths – so that when you need them, they will be at full strength.
A long-ago co-worker told me that his mother, while she was in grade school, hear about a classmate getting her mouth washed out with soap because she said “fart.” William Shatner shocked a lot of people when he said “Let’s get the hell out of here!” in the Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever.” Back in the day, even mild profanity prompted strong reactions.
Kids these days are exposed to vulgarities right, left and center. As a result, they become potty-mouths before their ages are in double-digits. Kids think swearing is funny as all-get-out, so they will cuss all over the place.
Mark Twain wrote, “Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” However, overuse of dirty words takes away from their power. Ergo, use your strong language sparingly. Please keep oaths off protest signs – what’s wrong with one or two letters and a string of grawlixes? If we want profane language to provide relief and ease pain, we need to use naughty words less and family-friendly substitutes more; then we can save the “bombs” for when they are truly needed.
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