The Annals of Profanity
- Elena Allen
The freedom of expression, as guaranteed to us by the First Amendment, may not be everything we thought it to be. Presently, in Standish, Michigan, a man awaits a trial for the criminal offense of using obscene language in front of women and children. This man, who uttered a few choice phrases as he fell out of a canoe now faces ninety days in jail or a one hundred dollar fine. His predicament is hardly isolated, for laws exist in several states that prohibit profanity in public parks or in the presence of the 'weaker sex' or children. Although the enforcement of these statutes has been slackened since the days of old, the fact remains that these laws persist, having been supported by Supreme Court rulings stating that obscenities are not protected by the First Amendment. My interest in the subject, however, does not lie in its legality, but in its psychology. What is it about 'bad words' that makes them profane, and why are they so offensive to individuals that they have literally been outlawed?
Society, it seems, has found words pertaining to, or describing the processes of excretion and fornication obscene. Apparently, the term for a female canine is also taboo, for reasons obvious to the average citizen. As an average citizen, I'm obliged to speak out, and express my considerable confusion and uncertainty concerning these long-standing traditions. Has it ever occurred to anyone else out there in TV land to question the concept of profanity? Chosen words are banned from schools, public broadcasts, publications and 'socially acceptable' conversations, without an explanation as to why they are so potent. If I conjured-up a word that had no real meaning, but that my surrounding company found insulting and derogatory, would this new term magically transform into an obscenity, radiating blasphemous ideals? However ludicrous this inquiry may seem, it is not without some validity, which strips the hostility away from profane words, leaving them naked, and harmless.
Of profanity, George Washington once said, "The foolish wicked practice of profane cursing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it." I adamantly disagree with this comment,, and because I am a firm believer in Thoreau's majority of one, I see no reason why my opinion should be any less significant. In the assumption that I am a "person of sense and character", I defy Washington's statement by advocating profanity as a purpose of expression This is not to say that I support the constant use of profanity in everyday conversation. Like much of society, I believe that more appropriate phrases are often overlooked and replaced by hackneyed obscenities. However, I do use profanity often enough to believe it fills an indispensable role. Anger, astonishment, frustration, pain and elation are, in my opinion, justifiable causes for profanity because they are forms of raw emotion, stewed only in the heart, and unassuaged by the mind. In a well-thought out articulation, there is rarely a need for profanity because sentiment is tempered. However, in the chaotic occurrences of everyday life, incidents often demand the use of profanity. In the event of slamming my thumb in the car door, or falling out of a canoe, it would seem peculiar to declare, in an enraged fit, "What an extremely unfavorable calamity!!!!" In these instances, there is hardly enough time to select a becoming locution, and a phrase of elevated diction often lacks the necessary emphasis and conviction that a string of obscenities can provide.
To those who argue that, "Profanity is the refuge of the illiterate who are unable to express their righteous ire in any more socially acceptable manner," I remind them that their stereotypical statement is inaccurate, for although I may not always be socially acceptable, I am hardly illiterate. In the interest of being permitted to express my opinions, no matter how lewd or inappropriate they may be, I urge each of you to re-examine your own views on profanity, in the hope that you will capture its absurdity, and rejoice in its simplicity. To those of you who are determined opponents of profanity, I respect you all the same, but must ask out of genuine bewilderment, "What do you exclaim when you slam your thumb in the car door?"