That’s the title of this February Parenting article.

One can argue, as the article does, that it is part of the venacular, a part of modern life. I can’t say that is not true, to an extent.

There is a time and a context for swear words. But those time should be rare, and the words themselves, should punctuate the speech. They should not be a substitute for lack of creativing, or even worse, filler words.

On a gut level, I find it to be a crude and course way of expressing oneself. On a larger level, common usage results in the words losing their expressive impact. That of course doesn’t make them any less course.

The article says:

I believe swearing is sort of a gateway drug of the emotions.[..]

It lacks creativity and civility, but it also blunts the senses to other forms of violence, verbal and otherwise. It leads to the snicker when the guy on the screen gets blown away, or even when the fat lady falls down on the “funny video” show. It opens the door to seeing something serious as trivial, something painful as silly. On the most basic level, it opens the door to verbal bullying, to “moron” and “retard”.

I have never heard it expressed in such a way, but I agree whole heartedly.

People have to draw the line, and make sure that line is not crossed. Often negative behaviors are the ones we easily let slip. What is trivial today may not be trivial tomorrow. It makes that line less defined, a fussy gray, with an ever shifting axis.

It’s unfortunate that positive behaviors aren’t the ones that slip. What a world this would be if that happened. Until that day, stick to your guns, even if it seems trivial. It isn’t.