Against Swearing

I’m going to share what might be considered a “prudish” post about language.

I believe that swearing is not a virtuous thing, but I’ll admit, there can be some pleasure in it. But pleasure of itself doesn’t prove that what we are doing is right. All sin is to some degree pleasurable, because if it weren’t, it wouldn’t be alluring.

But why do I not find swearing agreeable? It’s actually for philosophical reasons.
The image that comes to my mind if I am tempted to swear is none other than an ape pounding his chest in a vulgar, base, animalistic attempt to make sounds and noises to express anguish. To me, that is exactly how unintelligent the pattern of swearing is.

I also think that this type of beast-like behavior can just be a sign of a lack of self-control, especially if it’s habitual or environmentally supported.

I’ve worked in a factory, so I get why it can be important to speak the language of the people you work with. However, not when it means losing part of your humanity that expresses terms and words on a purely emotive level.

The words that we use have a particular meaning, and most swear-words are used in the context of crassness rather than the actual etymological or defined purpose of such words.

Does swearing make you “relatable?” I suppose to other people who also swear, it might. If I pounded my chest in front of an ape, I might also become relatable to him too.

I guess my point is, as human beings, we are not called to repress our emotions, but we are called to deal with them in a way that is governed by reason. I think the sheer act of making noises that express emotion without actual meaningful words is just a sign of a loss of our own true self.

Anyway: Read James Chapter 3

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Photo: Icons8 Team, Unsplash / PD-US