Cursing, vulgarity, swearing and profanity

About 30 years ago, I cleaned up my speech. Other than a dad-gum now and again, I pretty much say exactly what I mean and I use adjectives instead of expletives to express myself. Sadly, this practice has placed me squarely in the minority, it seems. I call it the minority because it appears the majority of people not only participate, but tolerate others promoting this bawdy kind of social intercourse.

Many otherwise good people feel at ease spicing up conversations these days and it doesn’t appear to need a social acceptance confirmation. Four-letter words and multi-syllable “#$%&’s” flow from their lips like dirty water and with relative and practiced ease. Ribald jokes are something to share with semi-strangers and never mind passing someone talking on their cell phone in a store, because nothing will be censored.

X-rated music blasts from car speakers at the local carwash and no subject is taboo or sacred in today’s music. Angry conversations are enough of an excuse to cut loose and really let the “curse” words fly. Almost every comedian and daytime television program is spiced-up with adult language and even if we can’t avoid it at work, we let it into our house every time the television is on. It’s everywhere and it’s offending. I’m weary of it, but I’m also a realist, so I do my part to counter vulgar language by using adjectives instead of expletives and try to understand how this phenomenon has become acceptable in our society.

Years ago, I read somewhere about the various forms of gutter-speech, which constitute so-called cussing. I wish I could remember where I read it, but from memory, all manner of crude speech is broken down into three categories: cursing, profanity/swearing and vulgarities.

Cursing (cussing) has to do with placing a curse or a negative wish on someone through speech, such as “damn you” or “go to Hell”. “I wish you would die a horrible death in a wood chipper” is another obvious curse phrase.

Profanity/swearing comprise words which take the things of God lightly, or put us in the judgment seat of Christ. The root word here is the word profane. Using the name of Jesus angrily or adding the words of damn and God together is definitely profane in nature. According to the Bible, we should say yes or no and not swear oaths at all, thus “swearing” took on a negative bent.

Vulgarity is any speech, word, or phrases which are not socially acceptable and pretty much sums up the rest of the words you would not speak in front of a lady, priest, pastor, or preacher.

When I was a kid, I “cursed” every chance I got. I did it because it made me feel like a grown-up. I thought adults talked like this and since I wanted to be one, I would take my liberty and curse like they did. It’s the same reason I smoked cigarettes. I learned it from grown-ups. Movie stars like Clark Gable, in a passionate moment, would let the whole world know they were indignant and angry, simply by tacking on a swear word.

Comedians, like John Stewart on the Daily Show, love to use two, three and four syllable vulgarisms and then laugh with total abandon and the audience guffaws…so it must be funny – right? He does have a top rated show and some folks wouldn’t miss it for the world. Well, I miss it and I miss it every time and the reason is, I don’t care to sift through his raunchy earthy language, just so I can hear political humor.

I don’t dig through the dumpster behind Rooster’s or McDonald’s to fill my stomach and I don’t want my ears filled with verbal garbage either.

Vulgar coarse speech does not an adult make. Excusing your French to make a point simply means you have a limited vocabulary. The addictive nature of cussing actually causes your vocabulary to diminish. Instead of rapidly searching for the right adjective to express a thought, a choice curse word is inserted and voila! No tricky thinking is required. If you’re lucky, someone may actually be shocked. Do this about a hundred times a day and before you know it, its habit. Momma, where’s the soap when you need it?

To show how pervasive this practice is, stop for a moment and ask yourself how many curse words you know in a different language. Embarrassing, huh? I have way too many and although all words may have a strategic conversational purpose time to time, most cursing, profanity, swearing and vulgarisms are better left for a rainy day far into the future.