Washing Out The Dirty Mouths

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Washing Out The Dirty Mouths

            Please forgive my manners! By the end of this essay, I might let something slip out that I don’t mean to say! However, I must admit I’m sick of all of the “damn” cursing occurring in daily American life.

Do you remember the golden rule? Or perhaps what the Bible says about foul language? I’ve tried to raise my children by not using such words in their presence.  I think I did a great job for at least nineteen years. 

However, I think I lost the battle when they went to college. And now that they are older, sometimes it is alarming the things that they feel free to say in my presence. When did it get to be okay to curse in front of your parents?  So if they say it in front of me, I know they curse in general discourse and direct it towards friends and strangers.  Is it okay to use profanity in general conversation? And, when did it get to be okay to curse out strangers?  Now that you don’t have to be old to curse, I’m guessing that one day such language will be directed at me!

Within this cursing crisis, the big question is: when did it get to be okay to curse out the President of the United States? Daily someone is saying **** Trump!  What happened to respecting parents, elders, clergy and dignitaries? What happened to respecting each other?

Throughout my lifetime, degrees of profanity have slipped into common language. At first it was mild. It appeared with older people stating their disgust to things when they didn’t think the kids were listening. Of course they were and they always reminded the old folks that they said a bad word so that they could get a reward or some “get out of jail card” in the future.  I remember using that tactic on my father and hoping to get a reward when I told my mother. Unfortunately, my father got me for that one when my mom wasn’t home!

Suddenly, it appeared again, via the use of “damn” on television. Profanity and degrees of nudity increased, traveling from cable to broadcast, then to cable, and to broadcast and then back to cable again. Each time the language grew more intense and more common. 

By my adulthood, hip-hop went from mild profanity to unspeakable language.  Folks were walking up and down New York City streets uttering verses in an unconscious state. Cursing was everywhere.  Around the turn of the century, everyone was cursing (even minsters and educators). 

That’s when I knew the world would never be the same again.  Some of the kids were developing potty mouths.  There were indicators that it was going to get worse. Since then, I’ve heard little kids, under five, cursing like it is their first language. And, there is little or no remorse.

            I thought only one safe area remained-the world of politics! Of course, candidates cursed but only in private.  And when hot microphones recorded cursing, the politicians were surrounded in controversy. Sometimes it was the reason why a candidate lost support or possibly an election.

            In 2018, the world is a different place.  One can say whatever the **** they want! Back in the day, I remember that the punishment for cursing was washing your mouth with brown soap.  If that remained true, brown soap would be the nation’s most manufactured and sold product. One application of brown soap might make a constant curser reconsider his/her choice of words.

Although we tend to still hold politicians in contempt for using foul language, degrees of profane language is common in private and public conversation.  Our current president, too, has made cursing commonplace. His favorite public term is SOB, and at his rallies the audiences cheer loudly when he says it.

            Trump has directed profanity at a wide group of celebrities, politicians, journalists, and athletes. Yet, regardless of the circumstances, it should still be disrespectful to curse back at the president. Celebrities have used award ceremonies to denounce the president, his cabinet and members of his family.  Comedians have cursed out the president, his daughter, son-in-law, the majority leader of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House.  A recent “**** Trump” uttered at the Tony Awards garnered a standing ovation. Social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, have allowed common citizens to ______ Trump and his family. Members of his family have been politely called c**ts, asses, and worse.  So it is not surprising that congressional interns, staffers, and members of Congress have and are going to speak ill of the opposition parties, their colleagues, and the president. And television captures it all. Perhaps, we can/need to admit that this behavior is wrong and easily accept that this is just a way of the powerless to get back at a dishonest president. Or maybe we need to call a truce and just stop!

However, the fight isn’t fair.  President Trump does not seem to suffer for his name-calling, profanity and bullying. While playing a role in the escalation of un-politically correct language, the White House has often struck back at the critics by demanding that persons using such language, which is their First Amendment right, be fired or suspended from their places of employment. Apologies are given by the angry but none come from the White House.  In this instance, cursing seems to provide singular victories.

When we curse it usually demands a response. We usually look down on those who make foul remarks and cannot find decent ways of self-expression. Cursing might force recognition but it is infrequently not successful in advocating acceptance. This context adds to the reasons why cursing enhances the nation’s culture wars. In essence our society is saying, if you won't accept what I'm saying then be prepared to be cursed out!

            Contemporary American society is in the midst of a full blown cursing crisis. Cursing has made its way into every sphere of American life. None of this behavior is correct or decent. We have lost our way.  Americans lack verbal restraint and courtesy for our fellow men, women, and children.

However, it needs to stop.  The right needs to hold the president in contempt and force him to respect the dignity of friends and foes.  Similarly, the left needs to re-orient the culture and ostracize those who continually disrespect President Trump.

And the cursing frenzy needs to stop now! Because if it doesn’t, as the kids say, “somebody is about to get ****ed up!” That’s "soaped up" so take your minds out of the gutter!

By the way, brown soap can be found in your local grocery stores.