Most people commence a fresh and bright day just like any other person. Snooze the alarm button, read a crinkly old newspaper that has already been read ten times, make breakfast and coffee, and relax by the computer desk to await another restless day. Usually in many households, not everything will go as planned and people will mess something up. One thing people turn to in life is swearing such as when the phone is ringing and they stub their foot while rushing to it. Studies by Keele University’s Professor of Clinical Psychology, Chris Main, shows that swearing helps release rage hormones. The amount of foul language from the past has evolved quite a bit; however, swearing has begun to lose its shock value, which isn’t a healthy thing. This opinionated paper will focus on how swearing influences society, how uttering profanities affects the brain, why it’s unacceptable to curse in front of children, uphold the laws the United States has made for us, and finally, why most religions oppose foul language.

One caution to keep in mind while using profanity is how easily society can determine a person’s character, according to a May 5, 2014 eHow:The Effects of Profanity article by contributor, Isabel Prontes. With the twenty-first century becoming the Digital Age, the face of social communication has been permanently altered. Most social media account holders believe since no one can see them use such vulgar words, using illiterate language is completely modern. Oxford Dictionaries defines language as, “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way,” while swear words are interpreted as, “an offensive word used as an expression of anger.” In a November 28, 2014 Prezi: Swearing in Society by journalist, Zainab Fawzul, it charted the more that people were on the internet, there would be a sixty-six percent greater chance they will likely swear. Throwing foul words into statements instantly increases the meaning of a phrase and this causes people to believe it’s acceptable to do it whenever and wherever they want. This belief to blurt out swear words has a negative impact on the relationships with others, causing discussions to turn into screaming arguments. It can also lead to isolation, depression, and violence. Cursing can not only affect society but, even thinking them stresses a person’s thoughts and physical actions.

Everyone has different ways of handling situations they may encounter throughout life. When people swear, it promotes socially unacceptable negatives such as verbal abuse, sexual harassment, verbal assault, and discrimination. A December 22, 2015 editor’s No Bullying: Harmful Effects of Swearing article revealed that it sends an unpleasant emotional response to deep feelings in the brain from the origin of a curse word, or the original curse meaning. For most people’s minds, the left side is in charge of language that takes place in the cerebral cortex, while the the right side, creates guilt-feeling emotional reactions that occurs deep inside the brain. On May 16, 2012, Psychologists Timothy Jay and Kristin Janschewitz wrote a Psychological Science: The Science of Swearing article that proves in the limbic system, the home to memory, emotion and basic behavior, it remembers swearing as a first response. “Swearing increases the heart rate and sets off the body’s flight-or-fight response,” Richard Stephens, a senior psychology lecturer at Keele University in the UK also commented on the topic. The negatives outweigh the positives when it comes to trying to win an argument by swearing. Not only does it make a person sound less intelligent, lose respect, and intimidates others, but it upsets others in earshot. At the same time, children will want to mimic these emphasized words like parrots in a grim effort to get attention.

A child’s developing stage is a beautiful thing to observe and they depend on the adults in their lives to help form a positive sense about themselves. Liza Blau, an English journalist from Columbia university, expressed in a June 16, 2015 Modern Mom article that when adults begin to curse, children believe that is a common way of dealing with frustration and stress. With leading to harmful decisions in the world, a child has a thirty-four percent greater chance in struggling to discover a wider range of coping with their emotions. Periodically used vulgar language and low communication skills promotes children to have difficulty in school and forming close friendships. Timothy Jay, a psychology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, also argued that swearing could develop in the same way as other parts of vocabulary. Whether or not a child repeats a foul word depends upon how responsible a parent chooses to control them and the social environment. Curing confuses children and it can sometimes leave them feeling unlovable and lower their self-esteem. In life, people usually want to be looked up to as a role model but that isn’t the only reason not to swear because people are much more likely to be caught doing illegal actions also.

The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Although people have the right of “freedom of speech”, words that are likely able to cause harm to others, or false speech, is not protected under the First Amendment. A May 13, 2010 Mother Jones’ Washington Bureau: The F-Bomb, Is it protected by the 1st Amendment article by reporter, Stephanie Mencimer, states that law enforcement has given people tickets for swearing. Pennsylvania state troopers had written more than seven-hundred citations over the course of one year and had to break up violent fights between people, Stephanie Mencimer also wrote. For instance, a person can’t yell “fire” inside a crowded theater the same way an adult shouldn’t be able to say an unpleasant word if strangers around them don’t agree. Incidents like these show that the First Amendment doesn’t always protect every form of speech and there is no definite agreement on how much speech really is protected. The Supreme Court of the United States decided that both the State and Federal Governments may ban fighting words or threatful remarks in public places. Not only can people get in major dilemmas with the law but, many religious beliefs may change a person’s perspective on how carefully swearing should be used.

 
“You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain,” The 2nd Commandment of the Decalogue Commandments and other religious scriptures guides people to respect whomever they believe in. “Eighty-four percent of the entire world population has at least some sort of religious faith, and that’s more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group” Journalist Jennifer Harper wrote on a December 23, 2012 The Washington Times article. The Washington Times article also states that the religious figure people choose to believe in gave all of mankind the gift to speak to others which should be used in a positive manner. Ephesians 4:29 indicates, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Priests from all over the World consider cursing is wrong because it destroys the human body’s sacredness.

Today was focused on how easily society can judge people, how uttering profanities affects the brain, why it’s inappropriate to curse in front of children, upholding the laws the United States has made for us, and finally why most religions oppose foul language. People often think that if they get in a situation where they can’t say anything like a free-for-all, such as a job interview and not happy hour at the bar, they believe that it will automatically stop. In the twentieth century, according to Harvard University Professor Steven Pinker, the word shifts from taboo to normal and becomes as common as waking up in the morning. Next time the little person speaking inside our minds gets ready to pop out that swear word, stop and think. Is there a purpose for it?