Jinkies!

I realize I'm basing two successive posts on another friend's blog, but what's a guy to do? They were good and provocative.

Swearing, cussing, or being profane, to me, are tools of communication. Each of those words have different literal connotations, just like most curse words. They have evolved over time. Curse words are no longer used to put a curse upon someone, but they have a lingering attitude towards malice or insult. But that depends on context and intent.

I enjoy swearing when appropriate. It's hard to judge and that is why they are an interesting and complex set of linguistics. I think that is also why kids are routinely and (almost) universally told that they are bad to use. Just as children are not considered mature enough to drive, have sex, drink, smoke, gamble or be left to their own devices during school hours, we don't consider them developed enough to understand the linguistic complexities of swearing throughout the various strata of society. [An aside: I once posited that we become adults when we start telling children not to do the things we sometimes do.]

Heck, even adults don't get it a lot of the time. But I'll defend those words as legitimate parts of human language. We use these words for lots of purposes, such as emphasis, frustration, anger, love, amazement, or most any emotion. They are very flexible and malleable, which are actually useful traits when used by the right tongues. Just as anything that is useful in society, it can be used for good or bad, which is where the rub lies.

How many times do we use swear words to describe events or actions negatively? Or perhaps make our anger and spite known? Are those constructive uses of language? Perhaps if they are done to make a point or to get attention. However, lots of other words can do this, as well. I've often thought that swearing simply shows a poor vocabulary, as they are used as crutch words to describe situations or emotions when suitable words aren't known. Their use can be lazy, too.

But the idea that they are only words is true. It is how we use them that matters. Is condescension or sarcasm any less insulting to someone than cussing if the person who utters them is trying to show contempt? How do we use these words? What are our intentions? They are tools of language that evolve over time, and they are the construction and presentation of our thoughts. If we sin and abuse other people with them, then it isn't the word that is to blame but rather ourselves.

The trouble is that society is complex. Many people who overhear a conversation have no context for some of the inflammatory or radical things we sometimes say, which can turn an innocent phrase into something very bad, even criminal. Thus, we must be more aware of ourselves in our environment than with just the people to whom we are speaking. That is hard to do, and not everyone is perfect.

I think swearing, cussing or profanity, however we describe it, is something that can be treated with intelligent analysis, rather than prohibition. It is good to have freedom with the development of our language. It is a representation of how we usefully communicate. If something isn't working, then another word will come along and take its place. This annoys a lot of people, especially purists who like the status quo. But because of the 4th dimension and the interaction of billions of people on this planet, we cannot help but change. It is our responsibility to make sure that change is more good than bad.

And we all have a say, so to speak.