Are bad words appropriate now?

It certainly seems so from politics and the media. There are innumerable examples of words that are widely used today that once were thought to be very much off limits. One of the more tame examples is the word ass. Once it was very taboo to use any questionable language in everyday conversation. Now we're at the point where Dick Cheney tells a senator to "go f--- himself" on the floor of the senate. The language is often used in songs and heard on the radio and is commonplace in the movies and on TV. Print media is a bit more conscious of its use. Still, we are bombarded nonstop by this coarse language. But is it okay?

There were many contributors to the article I read, and it seemed that the consensus is that our use of language today is just more informal as a result of the overall diminished formality of our culture in general. The fact that these words are deemed appropriate is a trickle down affect from our less formal culture. Also, as many said, there have always been words that have been considered tasteless. Standards change. They are constantly changing, and these were the same questions that were being asked a hundred years ago. The words in question were just different.

I agree with the contributors of the article that this is just a cyclical phenomenon. There have always been certain words and customs that have been considered risque. This is always the case. In this sense, nothing is new. We've always been asking these same questions. Still, I understand why there is some concern. These bad words have become so pervasive in our culture, it's hard not to question their necessity at times.

In general, I think this is similar to my opinion about teenagers' use of language and their informalities in texting and on the internet. I believe that there is a time and place for everything. I don't think it's appropriate for the vice president of the US to tell someone to "go f--- himself." This is uncalled for. I understand that he, too, is a person. Clearly he felt very strongly about his position and got caught up in the debate. Still, he holds a top level, official position in our government and the eyes and the ears of the world are focused on him. For this reason I believe that his actions were uncalled for.

The use of language in entertainment is another matter entirely. I don't have a problem with "bad" words being used in movies or on TV, we just have to take into account the audience. These words have become commonplace in our everyday lives, and I don't think it would be authentic to completely cut them from these representations and icons of our culture. The same goes for music, though music is a bit more difficult to regulate.

Language is constantly changing, and I think this is simply yet another example. I think the use of crude language is sometimes taken to an inappropriate extreme, but in general I view this as a natural evolution of the English language. Changes are bound to occur and I think this is one of the many inevitable changes that it will undergo.

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