December 31, 2011

  • The Right Decision

    I wasn't going to write today, not really having anything to write about, but then a series of events led up to it. I'll skip over the majority of the details and just say that I normally forget to turn off my laptop, but last night I did. This meant I saw the Xanga login page and happened to notice one of the pictures in a featured post.  I noticed one of a sign with swearing symbols and an X through it called Not Sheltered that had to do with making the choice not to swear or conforming by swearing. Kind of ironic after what I wrote in my last post regarding underhanded trickery leading to phonetic profanity. 

    This post mentioned the author kept being called sheltered just because they disliked swearing and innuendo. Needless to say, I often hear the same thing though, in my case, it isn't my Christian friends who think it unusual of me. It is my friends who are more blase about religion to the point where I am not actually sure how they feel about God. I am fairly certain they believe God exists, but am unsure if they have asked to be saved (which is unfortunate but off-topic). Nevertheless, they all curb their swearing whenever they are around me because they know I dislike it even as they try to persuade me to say just one swear word. 

    If one of them whacked their hand with a hammer or their foot got run over by a car and they swore in pain, I wouldn't light into them about foul language because obviously they were under duress. I don't agree with it, but can understand the need for release in some fashion -there are alternate options to be sure, but it is what has become habitual for them. What truly bothers me is when people are so desensitized to profanity that it peppers their every day language and it becomes a noun, a verb, an adjective... To steal a line from the Boondock Saints film, they "illustrate the diversity of the word". 

    I read that post and a few others related to the topic, and I still believe my decision to NOT swear is the right one for me. The first post had one of my favourite verses which is: Phillipians 4:8 "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." To me, that is like the difference between being optimistic and pessimistic. Think about good things, look for the good in all things, and good things will happen to you. Yes, there will be some unfortunate situations because no one's life is perfect, but by maintaining a positive outlook things are never so bad as they may first seem. Yet if you dwell on all things that go wrong or are bad in your life, than obviously your life is going to suck. 

    Someone once told me the Bible only says not to take the Lord's name in vain, and it is true that is one of the Ten Commandments. I was fairly sure that it also indicated swearing wasn't a good idea either, and scrittore@xanga included a few of those verses, such as: 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 "Hold fast to what is good.  Avoid all appearance of evil". While you might try to argue that profanity isn't evil, considering the fact that it has always been something that is rebellious, impolite, and not allowed in anything geared towards families you really cannot say it is the norm, is accepted, nor fully integrated into society. If it was, it would be allowable to swear in the presence of the queen, the president, the pope, and to your boss or at customers. Thus, swearing is bad and bad things are evil (though admittedly less evil than, say, hiring a hit man to whack any of the aforementioned persons). 

    Here is a challenge for any of you who think they have the fortitude and will-power to manage it: Stop swearing. Start small with going an hour without using a single curse word, then work up to a morning, a day, a week, a month, and soon you may realize that swearing does not addanything to your life. In fact, you might add to your vocabulary as you are no longer relying on profanity to fill in the blanks. 

    And the thing is, most people will not even notice the lack of it in your language. I spent eight months with the same classmates and not one of  them realized that I did not swear or, if they did notice, they did notfind it worth mentioning. So for anyone who started swearing because they thought it was "cool" it's really not, because people hardly ever notice if you don't; they only notice if you do. The people who do notice you don't curse are the ones who care about you enough to pay attention to what you are saying or not saying. It is a good way to figure out who actually listens to you. 

    No matter what the rhyme says about "words can never hurt me", that is untrue. If it were, kids wouldn't be committing suicide in order to escape bullying and criticism would have no effect on anyone's self-esteem. Words have weight and meaning and can make a difference; a compliment can make a bad day better and someone screaming curses at you can make a good day take a bad turn. This is why I was so hurt when N used words to fool me, because words are important and have a lasting effect. Sometimes an unexpected and undesirable effect.  

    So what do you think? Does not swearing make me naive and sheltered as some people claim? Or is it my right to choose the vocabulary I wish to use or not use? Do you believe not using profanity can make a difference in your own life or in someone else's life? If you currently curse, do you have what it takes to stop?

     

     

    photos courtesy of sis.young, the hope chest, unpack the rat. 

    SUMR