Food for Thought!

Does Swearing Corrode Society? Do young minds and civil society really crumble from four-letter words? Or does cursing play an important role in our language?

There's no social-science evidence that it's true, and the harm that befalls children is never specified [by groups like the Parents Television Council ]. There's no evidence that a word in and of itself has a negative effect on anyone. Cussing on TV may make naughty words more acceptable in everyday life, nevertheless, I'm hesitant to draw any conclusion that this influences behavior.

The PTC acknowledges that the specific harm caused by four-letter words is hard to pin down, but "the position seems fairly obvious," says Melissa Caldwell, director of research for the PTC. "Foul language is the language of aggression: It can lead to violent acts. And it impoverishes the English language."

I disagree on both counts. Swearing is basically a way to relieve anger and frustration in a nonphysical way. Because they're so uniquely expressive, curse words play an important—even privileged—role in our language and minds. They have a deep emotional tie—in that other words don't have, and they persist through the final stages of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, long after the rest of our vocabulary is gone.

The PTC's heart is in the right place, but protecting children shouldn't prevent adults from being able to enjoy grittier entertainment: We'd be left with the programming on the PAX network—Little House on the Prairie for everyone.