Let’s talk about swearing. I read this article this morning, discussing the actions of some distraught Bostonians that are fed up with people swearing within earshot.
That’s not really the problem, though. The problem is this paragraph:
They [signs discouraging profanity] are a sign of the times – of a culture of crassness that’s been propagated by a society that is increasingly iPod-anonymous and consumed by the mad rush of ambition, according to P.M. Forni, a nationally known civility specialist.
Let’s try to dissect that frantic little gem:
- Our culture is spiraling into rudeness, mindless ambition and anonymity.
- This disturbing trend is fueled by electronics and materialism.
- People’s use of naughty language is somehow a symptom of the problem.
I will give nationally known civility specialist P.M. Forni the benefit of the doubt here, and not mention the similarity between #1 and the purported words of Socrates:
I mean such things as these: — when the young are to be silent before their elders; how they are to show respect to them by standing and making them sit; what honour is due to parents; what garments or shoes are to be worn; the mode of dressing the hair; deportment and manners in general. You would agree with me? — Yes.
…or Peter the Hermit, in 1274:
The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress.
No, I will not discuss the basic flaw in civility specialist Forni’s postulate, because I am just that civil. Instead, I’m just going to rant about profanity, which was my original intention anyway.
The ability of human beings to abstract, to engage in metacognition, is the basis of all human language and a large part of what separates us from the animals (well, except for the monkeys, great apes, some rodents, assorted other mammals, and any others that we have yet to find out about). Point being, it’s not the words that are evil, it’s the ideas they represent. But most people are stupid, and so they get up in arms about the use of the words themselves, with no concern for meaning.
I would argue that the word “rape” is much more offensive than the “F-word” in all but academic contexts, because the idea it encapsulates is more unpleasant. By the same token, there’s no reason why one word for a scatological function ought to be any more offensive than any other. You’re either in a setting where discussing such things is appropriate, or you aren’t. And “damn”, in the vast majority of contemporary American usage, is stripped of all meaning and basically reduced to “!”. At best, it’s indicative of a less-than-bounteous vocabulary.
And let’s not forget “fart.” That’s a good old English word, attested to hundreds and hundreds of years back, that even the Victorians didn’t take that much issue with (their concern was with the discussion of such things in public in the first place). And yet, there was a period of time recently when that word was considered inappropriate for small children. (See, for example, its “edgy” use in the theme song to Salute Your Shorts, a 1991 Nickelodeon TV program.) I’m not saying that it’s been completely stripped of its obscenity, but I don’t think anyone would deny that “fart” enjoys greater acceptability for children now than it did in 1991. I know I see children’s TV shows tossing it around more frequently.
My point is, the morality of language moves in cycles. People see an increase in acceptance of swearing, but forget that what’s obscene today may not have been obscene yesterday. Our society is not spiraling out of control — at least, not because of swearing. People have been discussing the imminence of armageddon for a couple of thousand years too, and that doesn’t seem to have happened yet.
Furthermore, I would argue that a society that doesn’t bristle automatically at the sound of certain words is a more enlightened society, if only because such a response implies actual consideration of what people are saying. To put it differently: if content that you find unacceptable can be rendered acceptable simply by running it through a computer filter, you’re an idiot. Filter your own damn world.
I appreciate the need to teach children to behave in a socially acceptable manner. Really, I do. Teenagers standing on the street having loud profane conversations annoy me just as much as the next guy. But that behavior isn’t indicative of a culture of crassness — it could be nothing more than a socioeconomic indicator. I accept that those same teenagers are likely to also be engaging in crass behavior, but that’s just because both swearing and “crass behavior” boil down to a lack of consideration for others, something instilled by careful parenting. Indeed, if most children were taught by their parents to consider the meaning and effect of words rather than the words themselves, I don’t think there would be a whole lot of swearing, nor would there be all this hullabaloo about “bad words.” Instead, we might actually find ourselves concerned with rudeness.
In conclusion: Up yours, Dr. Forni.
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