Bad Language
Hmmmm… ever had your Mom threaten to wash your mouth out with soap, and then actually did because you said whatever it was just to defy her? I remember that soap tasted horrible, but it did the trick. It wasn’t the soap so much as the fact that I realized not to push my Mom because my Mom would follow through with any threat or promise she made. Raising three boys by herself didn’t give her an option so she set the rules pretty early, and even as grown men there is always the “Yes, Mama” that follows any direction or request. Sometimes depending on the situation, it was a required “Yes Ma’am”. So, when did you experience your first situation with bad words? Was it a dirty joke, or something scrawled on a bathroom wall? Somewhere while growing up you experienced your first exposure to curse words and that experience made you…. you!
Bad words. It seems we are surrounded by more and more ugly things and it doesn’t matter if it’s on TV, radio, movies or just out in public. I hear the “F” word being spoken by kids as young as 9 or 10 and it’s not just the boys, as sometimes the girls are just as bad or worse.
Even in politics, we are hearing more and more foul language coming from political leaders. There was a time not too long ago where your fanny would get sent to the principal’s office just for the mere utterance of a foul mouth word. When that happened, while in confession, how many Hail Mary’s were required as penance?
Our moral compass was set pretty good while growing up, as our Mom made sure we were in church every time the door was open and there was a threat you would burn in hell for any sins that included foul language. We even had a lecture one time that even the use of a harmless word, if it was used in intent as foul language, was just as bad. We kids thought that was funny and walked around for weeks shouting “Double Fudge Brownie” if we had a misstep, accident, or hit our finger with a hammer and needed some verbal relief.
This using normal words as curse words developed into a sort of game for us boys and we got creative about it. We even came up with a routine. “Got down off of my horse, fell into a pile of shifting sand, picked up a damp stick and beat the health out of my horse, slipped down and broke my aspirin bottle.” You must put the right emphasis on the words that start like a curse word but end up being something else. We thought it was funny. What’s not funny is that in the current times it appears we have lost our dignity. Local newspapers and TV personalities make fun of our President with vulgarity, everyone is a victim, it’s not my fault, and if you don’t agree with me I’ll get violent. What happened to manners? Civility? More importantly, some good old common sense?
When friends ask me how I deal with this issue I always say the same thing, “Let it begin with me”. I’ll be the civil one, I’ll be the polite one, I’ll be the example and help each person equally regardless of race, creed, or color. But I also know I have a “three strikes and you’re out” rule to keep folks from taking advantage of me. If more of us in the silent majority made it a point not to put up with this deviant behavior and simply not tolerate it, we might be able to save this thing called civility. So, what were your experiences? Who was there, what was being discussed? What was said that you found offensive? Did it affect your personal behavior and set boundaries on your language? Whatever it was, it made you …. you!
Language sometimes can be misconstrued, or just plain hard to comprehend. Got language in your medical plan, retirement, or financial statements that you don’t understand?
Call us! We’ll be glad to interpret and help you make the right decision for you!