Time
to Curb the Cussin’
Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal,11/10/19
It’s
past time for people in the media, Congress, and the White House to check their
tongues. Filthy language has become
widespread and ordinary folks who oppose it need to start saying so.
Particularly,
the filthy-mouthed ones seem to be stuck on “damn” and “Who the Hell.” Guests on the news talk shows are the chief culprits,
along with Judge Jeanine Pirro and President Trump. I hate to report that the ones whose language
is worst are those with whom I agree most on politics and policy. This past
week I stopped counting Judge Jeanine’s “damns” and “Who the Hells.” Talk about gratuitous. A beautiful and smart woman, the Judge,
sadly, is obviously on the bad language air waves bandwagon.
I’m glad that conservatives don’t take their
bad language to the streets in protest as the progressive groups do (Antifa, #
MeToo, Planned Parenthood, and others). Conservatives don’t protest in streets
too much, probably because they’re at work.
But on television a good-sized bunch of conservatives have forgotten
what their mamas taught them. Before I forget, let’s place Senator Lindsey
Graham in that group as well.
Don’t
tell me this is a trivial matter. Most
of us have children and grandchildren to think about. But forget children and grandchildren for a
moment. Adults don’t need to hear bad
language either. Anyone who chuckles at
such a thought (or who considers my musings here squeamish or “puritanical”)
understands little if anything about the power of language, and its lingering
quality.
Language
is the dress of our thoughts. Words are
the vehicles upon which our thoughts ride.
Those who use filthy language are spilling a portion of their character,
revealing a dark side. Anything that
comes out of us was in us. This is not to say that filthy talking folks are all
bad. You can talk ugly and still have a
heart as big as Texas, or talk ugly and be selfless. But you can’t talk ugly without painting
pictures that diminish beauty, grace, and civility.
A
picture is worth a thousand words, we’re told.
No doubt, but a word is also worth a thousand pictures. Ugly words make ugly pictures which instantly
distract a listener or reader from what is being communicated.
Any
way you cut it, “damn” is simply ugly and sad.
“Hell,” whether a literal or a figurative place (I’m camping on literal,
partly because I don’t believe my precious, believing mother can share the same
eternity as Adolf Hitler) conjures the worst that can be conjured. Its casual use trivializes its
seriousness. And back to children, who
wants their children to be using the word loosely? As with drinking, so with cussin’. If we don’t want our kids to do it, we had
better not do it ourselves.
Words
can exalt and they can debase. I wish
that some of the President’s evangelical Christian supporters who have his ear
would tell him that his bad language needs to cease. Can’t the vice-President do this? Maybe Pastor Robert Jeffress should, or Rev.
Jerry Falwell, Jr. or Sen. David Purdue, or somebody! Maybe somebody has tried.
Evangelical
Christians are faulted for supporting President Trump, given his ugly
language. Those who do so are pushing a
spurious argument. Here’s why. Our children and teens are far less
influenced by the President than they are by pop culture. How many children and teens watch his rallies
where he really cuts loose? Probably not
many. But they do watch movies, videos,
potty-mouth comedians, and who knows what on their cell phones. Let’s not fault
the President while giving our crude culture a pass.
The
first president I ever voted for at age 20 was Barry Goldwater who cursed
profusely in front of cameras. LBJ, who
defeated Goldwater soundly, cursed even more.
Richard Nixon showed us his soul on the Watergate tapes, but that
wouldn’t have led me to vote for George McGovern. My father’s favorite president (after FDR)
was Mr. Salty Tongue himself, Harry Truman, but my father would not have voted
Republican so Salty Tongue it was. I could not have voted for Hillary Clinton,
nor could I ever support any of the socialists, one of whom will be President
Trump’s opponent in 2020. Sometimes we
have to make decisions.
Sometimes
our choices don’t offer us the more excellent way in every area of life. President Trump has ignited good,
hardworking, common sense Americans like never before. Thankfully he’s putting
pompous elitism and arid intellectualism in their place. I just wish he would take advantage of the
fact that English has more synonyms than any other language known to man.
Roger Hines
11/6/19
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