Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Until I was inducted into the Army, I rarely heard anyone swear. Not in my family. Not at the schools I attended or at family and friends’ homes, and certainly not in public places such as restaurants, parks, theaters, or even ballparks.

I’m not a prude, nor were any of my friends or family members. Swearing was just not something we did. Profanity wasn’t heard in films, on TV, or on the radio. It didn’t appear in magazines or newspapers. A politician spouting a string of expletives would have been a front page news story with the cursing blacked out. It meant almost certain defeat at the ballot box. That was the 1950s and 60s and even into the 70s and later.

Long gone is the day when Clark Gable in “Gone With the Wind” shocked a movie audience by saying: “Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn!” or when the racy novel “Peyton Place” would be hidden from the kids.

Today, those in search of unique ways to sling slurs and creatively use profanity can attend just about any movie, turn on the TV, or tune in to a Democratic Party event to stock their profanity pantry.  Parents today would be delighted if they caught junior reading “Peyton Place,” thrilled that he was actually reading. Movie parental guidance codes are as useless today as “Men” and “Women” bathroom signs at an LGBTQA meeting venue.

Verbal filth is everywhere. Even words that were once considered too offensive for the crassest rapper to record or perform in public are now common place. The lyrics of some songs in the mess that passes for music are no longer considered forbidden. They can be heard on any street, blaring through open car windows. There’s no escape with the exception of church.

Today, there appears to be nothing too profane to yell out in public and loudly banter around in a restaurant, bar, ball game or political event, no matter if a nun, someone’s Quaker granny, or a Sunday school class outing is within earshot.

Democrat politicians in particular have taken swearing to new scatological heights, going as far as recording a series of expletive-riddled videos that could only appeal to an audience of voters with the IQ of a barrel of hair. They’ve succeeded in making their collective ignorance audibly apparent with their Senate and House leaders gleefully leading the profane chorus.

The Democrat mayor of Minneapolis doesn’t refer to the ICE agents attempting to clean up his crime-ridden city without using the “F” bomb. “Hey kids, the mayor’s on TV. Oops, never mind.”  Presidential candidate Kamala Harris used it frequently, as do the vocabulary limited Democrat congressional members Jasmine Crockett (TX), Ayanna Pressley (MA) and many more.

Republicans aren’t immune. No siree Bob! President Trump is also guilty, using his “bully pulpit” to profanely describe America’s enemies and the prowess of the U.S. military. Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson were reported to have spicy vocabularies, but it wasn’t until the public was made aware of the “Nixon tapes” in the 1970s that Americans actually heard a president swear.

I know a couple of guys who would be mute without repeatedly using the “F” bomb. In a single sentence, they creatively manage to use it as a verb, noun, adverb, and and adjective. It doesn’t matter who is sitting nearby – wives, friends, kids, or strangers. They’re Yosemite Sam impersonators spraying the room with vulgarities instead of bullets.

I’ve had folks who disagree with me argue why they oppose my opinions, many being polite and articulate. Others are prime examples of why many bars have signs declaring: “No politics discussed here.” After a few beers, the frustrated antagonist begins his or her explanation with a vile slur and it goes downhill from there. They eventually stagger away in an angry alcoholic haze.

Even when not fueled by alcohol, for the majority of them, the sum total of their intellectual judgments could fit on a fortune cookie message with plenty of room left over for the lucky lotto numbers.

I look back fondly on the days of the TV Show when Jim Nabors’ character, Marine Corps Private Gomer Pyle, expressed his shock or surprise by loudly exclaiming: “Gollll-ly!”

• About
• Latest Posts

Dave Scott

Dave Scott spent several years as a daily newspaper reporter in Florida and New York before joining the corporate world and heading up communications activities for IBM, ITT and other Fortune 50 companies in the U.S. and Europe, eventually running his own Atlanta agency. He lives on Amelia Island, FL, and blogs at www.davescottblog.com. He also writes, edits, and publishes the annual Amelia Island News-www.amelianewswrecker.com, a newspaper parody with the tag line "Amelia Island's sacred cows make the best burgers."

Latest posts by Dave Scott (see all)

• Dems would be hilarious if they weren’t so dangerous - May 15, 2026
• Democrats foment, fund, and fuel chaos - February 18, 2026
• What’s all the swearing about? - January 19, 2026

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.