The words we choose shape the world we see — and lately, that world has grown coarse. Swearing used to be a signal that the speaker did not conform to social norms, or that their passion was too powerful to be confined by these norms. Nowadays, swearing has become a norm in itself, and, at the risk of sounding prudish, it is a norm which reinforces indecency in our society.  

Maybe I should just loosen the f— up. Swearing is not a big deal — everyone does it.   

But I believe that language exposes something about the person who uses it. Frequent swearing makes you sound unintelligent and shows you are too immature to find a better word. In resorting to an overused curse, you miss an opportunity to use more accurate and vivid language. Rotating between three curses in place of adjectives, nouns and adverbs reveals that the speaker is unimaginative and has a limited vocabulary.   

Words have power, and a properly timed, well-chosen curse word has a jaw-dropping effect. However, when profanity becomes omnipresent, it loses its power. The reason a swear word from your professor in the middle of a lecture makes the whole class murmur is because it is unexpected; it calls your attention to their strong feelings. All the while, the curses coming every other word from your classmate don’t even make you blink. In moments where a thoughtful curse word could signal passion and emphasis, frequent use becomes distracting rather than emphatic.  

Although they have become commonplace, swear words retain their negative connotation. The derogatory meaning is a large part of the allure of using them. However, when paired with a curse word, the subject is forced to carry this negative meaning. A person and a shitty person are viewed as two different people. One inherently carries more value than the other. Using profanity takes the life out of your words and reduces them to something vulgar.   

Since language affects the way we see the world, automatic cursing pollutes our speech and pollutes the way we see the world. It shrinks our worldview to exclude anything good and beautiful.  

It’s bad enough when you intentionally devalue something, but it is much more concerning that devaluing the things around us has become an accidental habit or even a part of our culture. Our circumstances, belongings and neighbors have become casualties of our laziness or desire to fit in. An unrestrained tongue fosters carelessness in our culture, while making the effort to use decent words will signal a decent heart.