Opinion: PC police solve public profanity issue

The subject of the April 17 Rusty Saber centered on observations about a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll detailing an increase in the use of profanity by Americans. The poll indicates that more Americans recognize not only a significant increase in the use of profanity by others but that more people use it themselves. An anomaly of the results appears to be that some who use profanity are bothered when others use it.

Last week’s column inferred that more of us using foul language in the company of each other can’t be a good thing.

Although I neither claim to be a prude nor a stranger to profanity, I have never believed it to be a mark of extreme intellect to assault the ears of others with a smut-filled vocabulary.

Once the column was signed, sealed and delivered to the editor, I realized that I posed a problem but offered no practical solution. Any blockhead can shout to the rooftops that something is wrong; I opt to be a blockhead with a solution.

I don’t know why I didn’t include the obvious solution in the original column. I believe it is essential that an answer be found to the increase in profanity. A part of the poll I failed to report on last week was that 62 percent of people age 18 to 34 claim to use profanity, compared to only 39 percent over age 35. More men than women reported swearing, and 75 percent of women reported being offended by it.

Consider these findings for a minute. Assuming guys want to continue to attract women, they had best clean up their acts; the survival of the species is at stake.

The answer to the filthy mouth dilemma is simple: Make public profanity politically incorrect.

It’s so apparent I can’t believe I didn’t include it in the original column.

Think about it: Political correctness assumes that Americans should never offend anyone or anything regardless of who they are or how much they may or may not deserve to be offended. What better way to do it than to inform us all that “clean speak” is politically correct?

Longtime readers may be surprised that I am advocating giving the political correctness police the time of day, let alone enabling them to create another behavior management contrivance.

Truth be told, I’m surprised myself. I have never been a disciple of the PC practice and have said so in past columns. To me, political correctness is America’s collective root canal.

Nitpicking PC outcomes have included such things as “waitperson” replacing the perfectly logical “waiter” and “waitress.” The same for airline “steward” and “stewardess” yielding to the PC “flight attendant.” Since men and women are in both professions, what possible harm could it do to anyone’s status to indicate whether men or women are filling the jobs?

Political correctness has invaded with nonsense all manner of public discourse. Regardless of how I may feel about PC, it seems to work. Somehow, it has emerged as a standard by which proper conduct is judged.

Having said all of this, I do give PC credit for one good thing. It has played a role in making racial and ethnic jokes so offensive that they appear to have virtually vanished from the lips of all but the most crass dolts among us.

As hard as it may be for me to say it, I believe the PC police can help clean up the foul language surge that lends nothing uplifting to present-day life.

Should my advice be followed, just think of how much more pleasing it will be sans profanity in public places.

The biggest change would be in television programming. Entire new plots would emerge in most network situation comedies – those without profane references to human anatomy and sexual activities.

Jay Leno and David Letterman would probably drop their opening monologues because they would have nothing to do or say.

More than likely, making profanity illegal would only lead to more of it.

Make it politically incorrect, and it will go the way of children singing Christmas carols in school.

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.[[In-content Ad]]