Saturday, March 1, 2008

That certain language

A blogger I know often uses the "f-word" in her blog. I can't say I'm offended -- I hear that word frequently from other people. But I rue the growing, everyday usage of profanity as one more strike against the few remaining bastions of decency in our lives. According to my high school English teacher, Rhett Butler's famous line at the end of the movie version of Gone With The Wind ("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.") was the first time such a word was spoken in a movie. It was 1939, and viewers were shocked. If the movie were remade today, Scarlett would likely reply, "Go f--- yourself!" and few people would even notice. Certainly, strong language is sometimes appropriate, but overuse diminishes its potency. I'm not advocating a return to the days when such language was not used in polite company, but I do think a little less vulgarity would improve us all.

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