Jill Mccorkle's Essay Cussing Time

Is swearing important to our society? Should children be allowed to use foul language? And how should they be used in conversation? In the essay titled “Cussing Time”, author Jill McCorkle expresses her view on these subjects, and this essay will provide additional views.

To paraphrase the late comedian George Carlin, language is used to mask the truth. In his 1990 stand up special “Doin' It Again” he says “there is nothing wrong with those words in and of themselves” when talking about bad language. He and McCorkle both argued that context is more important than the words themselves, and this is not hard to prove. In Monty Python’s “The Life Of Brian”, there is a scene where a man is to be stoned for saying the word “Jehovah”, but the people instead decide to stone the man announcing his crime, as he had to say “Jehovah”. Humans need to express emotions, and swear words are a conduit for one’s distaste or anger. They are indeed vital to expression.

Another thing the author argues is that children should be allowed to swear.

She states that abstinence only increases the urge to do the thing in question. She is quoted as saying “...all that ever did... was to make me furious and determined to say everything even more” when she discussed how she got punished for swearing. She had also pointed to several cases of denial, such an bingeing and church sex scandals, to support her argument. Even if those examples could be argued, there is too many examples to confirm the truth behind it. Humans crave stimulation, and any stagnation of it will become unbearable. People would rather complain than succumb to boredom. So yes, McCorkle is correct, as swearing privately removes her son’s urge to swear in

private.

One counter argument to the liberal use of swear words is that the words will begin to lose their impact when misused. This is true. A good example can be found online with members of generation Z. As stated by early early member of generation Z, Austin Grond “To them, the word ‘faggot’ is no longer used exclusively as a homophobic slur. Instead, it has been turned into a general insult for someone you don’t like. Did you promise something online but failed to deliver? Your audience will most likely call you a faggot.” However, the argument assumes that words always have specific meaning, something disproving in the second paragraph of this essay. Furthermore, while Grond was correct in regards to how the word “faggot” is having its meaning changed, it should be worth noting that faggot wasn’t originally used as a slur. Language evolves all the time and words adopt new meanings, so any word can fill a niche left behind. Swearing is acceptable when society in general believes it is.

In summary, swearing is an important part of expression, children who are not allowed to swear will rebel, and swearing is acceptable when the current society agrees upon and understands it’s context. McCorkle is correct in the importance of cussing in our modern society. As Gordon Ramsay once said “Swearing is industry language. For as long as we’re alive it’s not going to change. You’ve got to be boisterous to get results.” Thank you for reading.