As many who've been in my seminars know, I find that swear words are simply letters of the alphabet put together to create a word. I am not aware of any country that doesn't have its share of such words. This said however, I am not a fan of swearing. Not because of the words themselves, rather, because of the implied intent behind the use of these words, and often the tone with which they are spoken. Any letters can be put together to form a word. It is the meaning that society gives to these words that creates acceptance or nonacceptance for use in polite conversation.
Today we learned that the City Council in Washington, D.C. added an amendment to the Council's Code of Conduct that bans the use of profanity in council meetings. This amendment also unanimously passed. (see for the story: D.C. Council Chairman Cracks Down On #@&#%!!!)
It is interesting too when I speak with others, not one person has said that swearing is appropriate. Some even say they need to clean up their language. Yet swearing persists.
I simply ask you to consider how refined a person (you or other) sounds when swearing. And is there another set of words other than profanity that can be used when stating displeasure, unhappiness, or used in general conversation?
