The United States is a nation of addicts. Everyone seems to need, crave or desperately have to have something.
Think about it. As a nation, we are addicted to fast food. We are addicted to smoking. We are addicted to prescription drugs, chocolate, tanning, country music, America's Next Top Model""... The list continues.
But there is one addiction that really annoys the frick out of me: swearing. It seems that we have become a nation of sailors and potty mouths.
South Pasadena, Calif. had an interesting solution to this gosh darn problem. The city council passed a proclamation that approved the public shaming of those who use profane language or make rude gestures.
The proclamation was meant to remind the town of the importance of civility and intelligent dialogue. Even more surprising, the idea was originally proposed by a teenager. After forming a ""No Cussing"" club at his high school, the freshman decided to expand his targeted audience to include the adults in his world.
This may be an extreme example, but the general idea could not be more correct.
After all, cursing used to be an activity undertaken by the lowest members of a society. Knowing and using bad language used to be the mark of an evil person, someone you would cross several streets to avoid.
Now swearing has become a rite of passage. At five, kids can go to kindergarten. At 16, kids can drive.
Somewhere in between there, at an increasingly young age, kids add nasty words to their vocabulary. From the guy next door who yells ""sh#@"" every morning when his alarm blares to the professor whose nasty language offends even her most liberal students, swearing surrounds us every day.
Because swearing is so common, these forbidden words have lost much of their impact. Many students hardly flinch in the presence of cussing. Such powerful language used to be reserved for extreme situations, such as dropping a boat on your toe. Now when something severely negative happens, there are no longer strong enough words to capture the pain or stupidity of the moment.
Let's call this a story of the boy who cried ""f*&%.""
If every other word that leaves your mouth starts with F and rhymes with duck, who would come to his rescue if something truly awful happened and he yelled his favorite word? Most likely, not a single person would come sprinting to his aid.
Furthermore, this overuse of a select number of ugly words truly shows the lack of creativity of our society.
Rather than invent new insults or assemble innovative phrases, people shift into autopilot, using the same six or so words that nearly every other person uses. It warms my heart when I hear my siblings calling each other ""twit nuggets."" What creativity! After all, some of the most insulting and offensives phrases are often ones created on the spot and specified to the target of degradation.
Finally, excessive swearing makes the swearer sound thoroughly dim-witted to the swearee. Those with a higher degree of education should have a more expansive vocabulary than the rest of society. Yet, hearing some students speak on campus, one would not believe this to be the case. Those who curse quite often seem unable to form a coherent thought.
Additionally, the people of the world are constantly passing judgment on those around them. Too much cussing can cause a horrible impression on future professors, dates, and group-project partners.
There is a time and place for swearing. But in between those times, use creative means to express displeasure. The results will have a much more positive impact and outlook.
Emily Houtler is a sophomore majoring in environmental science and math. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
