Two Fox News contributors just got suspended for using words on air that the FCC likes to bleep out, at least on arbitrary channels at arbitrary times. One of them called the President a pussy, and the other one said that Obama didn't give a shit about terrorism. There, I told you what they said. Was that so hard? Most of the news articles on the subject bleeped it out in print in one way or another. Many of them kept the key letters in the offending words, with other letters replaced with dashes, such that any discerning reader above the age of three could understand what was said. Heck, even the article I read from the Huffington Post had some censorship in it, but they decided that it was alright to print the word shit but not the word pussy, probably because they liked the latter word less since so many people have probably called them that. When I was the editor-in-chief of my college's newspaper and I had to quote someone in an article, I printed exactly what they said. I didn't bleep it out because someone might be offended by a word that is often bleeped out on television. That is how you report news when you're not a pussy.
Let me state here that I actually agree with the decision to suspend the contributors. They knew they weren't supposed to do that, and whether or not you believe what they said was accurate, it was highly disrespectful. But they were called on the show to give their opinions, so suspension makes more sense than outright firing. They gave their opinions, and they had the right to say what they said, but Fox also had the right to suspend them. So why even bring this up? It's a great excuse to talk about the issues I have with the existence of "banned" words, both in secular society (FCC) and in many conservative churches.
The FCC regulates television and radio for many things, including decency. They have the power to fine offending broadcasters. Because who better than a government agency to regulate what is or isn't decent? Torture, discrimination, abortion, lying, bribery, trillions in debt, extramarital affairs... These things are acceptable from a government standpoint, in certain forms. But saying "shit" on network television during the day? They have to draw the line somewhere. And showing a nipple during halftime of the Super Bowl? That's what ruined America. How can you expose young children to a body part that they probably sucked on regularly a few years prior? Really, it's absurd that we rely on the FCC to determine decency. Repeatedly showing drug use, promiscuity, and violence? Decent. Using one of the magical "four-letter" words? Indecent. Taking God's name in vain? Decent.
We can't regulate decency based on religion, because people within this country have many different beliefs, even within the same religion. There are some words that a majority can agree should not be said, but then there's a grey area. Is damn a swear word? Bitch? Bastard? Ass? What about hell? Preachers talk about hell. They talk about damnation. A female dog is a bitch. An child born out of wedlock is a bastard. Ass is another word for donkey. See, we have no problem with these grey area words when they are used in context, because there is nothing inherently wrong with the words themselves. Why then do we believe that there is something inherently wrong with any word? The worst and most offensive word I can think of is the word "nigger" and even that word is generally allowed to be uttered on television and radio, because it often reflects real life incidents and is used to teach a lesson about racism. What's the worst thing you can call a woman? How about "Jezebel"? Look up who she was in the Bible if you're unfamiliar with it, but to me, calling someone that is even more offensive than calling someone a bitch or anything else, yet no one flinches when that word is uttered. I am not advocating that we all start swearing, but I am questioning societal standards and the existence of words that are somehow assumed to be inherently vulgar or indecent.
I think the reason that certain words got a bad rap is because when they are used, they are usually used in vulgar, indecent, disrespectful, or derogatory ways. And boy are they overused. But no one thinks you're cursing when you say you stepped in dog poop. What's the difference if you call it poop or dung or crap or shit? There is none. It means the same thing. It's not a "curse" word in that context. I know what you're thinking now, and to borrow from A Christmas Story, you're wondering about "THE word, the big one, the queen mother of dirty words, the F-dash-dash-dash word." How can THAT ever possibly be alright to utter? Well, the best example I can think of comes from none other than David Ortiz. As a Yankees fan, I used to hate Big Papi, being the face of the Red Sox and having likely done steroids, I had little respect for him. But then, when his career continued long past when we all thought it was over, and he spoke at Fenway Park following the Boston Marathon terrorist attack in 2013, going on to hit .688 in the 2013 World Series that year, I decided that while I do not root for him, I respect and admire David Ortiz, and he would have my vote for the Hall of Fame. One of the things he said to the crowd at Fenway after the bombings was, "This is our fucking city, and nobody's going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong." In this case, even the FCC agreed that this was not vulgarity or indecency, and it should not be censored or punished. Well said, Big Papi.
For those of you who are Christians, you may be wondering how, as a Christian, I could possibly hold that view. Well, let me tell you, the garbage that using certain words "is against the Bible" or "ruins your witness" simply is not true. Repeatedly saying things that actually fall under the category of cursing is, of course, problematic, but that is not what we're talking about here. If you've ever said something like, "Well, I thought he was a Christian, but then I heard him say the S Word," you are part of the problem. Let's look at what the scriptures really say. Ephesians 4:29, no "corrupt communication." Colossians 3:8, no "filthy communication." James 3:9-10, Romans 12:14, and Psalms 10:7, no "cursing." 2 Timothy 2:16, nothing "profane" and no "vain babblings." I Peter 3:10, nothing "evil" and no "guile." If what you say is not corrupt, filthy, profane, evil, cursing, filled with guile, or vain babblings, I have difficulty finding fault with it from a Biblical standpoint. What I do find fault with and take offense to is taking the name of the Lord in vain (see Exodus 20:7). Saying "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ" or "God damn" in vain, while more accepted in Christian circles (at least the first one on that list) than those magical intrinsically bad words, is clearly a problem in the eyes of God.
The Bible does not sugarcoat things, and just because something is recorded in the Bible doesn't mean that it's acceptable to do. The Bible speaks clearly of rape and murder, and it records the curses of others (see I Samuel 20:30, when Saul calls Jonathan a "son of the perverse rebellious woman," which you can figure out for yourself what the best term for it is in the modern English language). Jesus didn't sugarcoat things either. He was pretty blunt. He never sinned, but he overturned tables in the temple, and even called Herod a fox in Luke 13:32, which was considered very insulting in that culture. Paul provides some other good examples of this sort of thing, as he suggests in Galatians 5:12 that there are those who, rather than merely circumcision, should just cut off the whole thing (he's making a penis pun here to make a point), and the way he uses the word "dung" in Phillipians 3:8 is believed by many experts to be equivalent to using the term crap or shit today.
So, a few lessons to take away here... Words are not bad by themselves. It's how you use them. Don't take the name of the Lord in vain, and don't say things that are meant to be vulgar or hurtful to people. Instead, say things that edify, and build each other up, but by all means, call things what they are. If something is bullshit, call it bullshit, or at least don't take issue with it if someone else does, just because you don't like that word.
...I am going to get so much shit for this post on Sunday.
