Let me start off this difficult conversation by leveling with you. I don't swear. I really don't. So when it came time for ideas, I honestly never thought this would be a topic I would be drawn to or ever consider discussing. Yet, here I am. So, bear with me. Much of what I have accumulated here has been through conversation with others mixed with some of my own thoughts. If I've got it wrong, I encourage you to correct me.

I think we live in a time where we have romanticized swearing. We like to say swearing indicates extreme emotion and that there are no other words that quite fit a situation like the perfect swear phrase. We like to pretend that we're in some '80s movie and, as the protagonist, our shining moment will be when we drop the big one in a highly emotional scene. But that's not life.

In real life, we have to remember that there are inappropriate words that should not be used in certain places. Some people say that when they're mad it feels so good and becomes so easy to just let the words roll off of their tongue. By saying that there isn't anything else that feels quite right, we have romanticized those words. We have placed them on some kind of pedestal for special use.

I don't know about you, but this bothers me just a little bit.

Beyond the wide range of other word choices you could be using, you have chosen words that are derogatory to some people. Often the words can just be offensive. That alone should stop you from saying certain things.

We have forgotten that other people have feelings and what we do affects other people. If I say something in front of someone, no matter what it is, I need to be mindful of whether or not it will offend them. How many things do we avoid saying in public because we don't want anyone else to hear? There's plenty I'm sure.

While I understand the origin of most of our swear words, regardless of what they meant then, the meanings have significantly changed. We are no longer identifying body parts or bodily functions with these words. We are specifically saying something bad. Or if you consider them to now be meaningless filler talk, we are wasting our words on nothingness. I honestly don't know which is worse.

Bottom line is, words are important. Words always have a meaning to someone. You don't know how those words have been used at someone. You don't know their level of comfort with certain words. You should be mindful of the people around you and their feelings.

I love words and I think self-expression is important. I also think you can learn a lot about people from what they say. But you can learn more about people from what they don't say. If something terrible happens to them and they keep cool, imagine the self-control that person must have. If you can minimize swear words from your language, you have obtained a self-control that many people don't exhibit anymore. You have considered others first. I believe that's something to consider.