Pushing the Pause Button on Profanity

When we are at a loss at what we can do to make a difference for our country, we can remember that it starts with us, and that small acts like speaking kindly do have an impact. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

While out on an evening walk in a local park, I heard a fellow walker coming down the path behind me, talking on his phone. His tone was even-keeled and calm ... but it seemed like every fifth word was an expletive, uttered in the same calm manner.

I cite this incident not because it’s out of the ordinary, but because it is, in fact, very ordinary. It seems one can’t go through a day—or even an hour—without hearing someone use words related to bodily functions or religious terminology in an angry, flippant, or even nonchalant way. What once was the vocabulary of sailors, not to be uttered in a lady’s presence, is now what spews from many mouths, including female ones.