Potty Mouths
We’re a lot freer with language these days; words that used to get you grounded or get your mouth washed out with soap are now used regularly by national political figures.
I am known to pepper my language with salty phrases…but never on the air, and never in public. I’m not a prude, but there’s a time and place for everything—and in an effort to gain more voters, our national political figures are ignoring those boundaries.
Law professor, author and analyst Jonathan Turley recently posted on the topic on his blog and on X, expressing his displeasure with the coarseness of language these days. He quoted Mark Twain, who famously wrote that “under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” Professor Turley notes that the difference today is that the profanity itself is a prayer by politicians seeking power.
Democrats want to relate to the so-called “working man,” so they use profanity thinking that will make them seem relatable. They want to relate to people of color, so some of their leaders go to events and brag about their low SAT scores and inability to read well, saying, “I’m no different than you.”
Not only is the desperation palpable, but the pandering is so overt it’s likely to backfire.
Let’s be clear, Republicans have their share of potty mouths out there, and it’s no more effective or becoming on them.
If we instituted a “swear jar,” where they’d have to chip in a dollar for every bad word, we might pay that national debt off yet.
We used to look up to our political leaders. That’s part of the problem; now they’re merely politicians or political figures, and not leaders at all.
