So long Blue Jays, go Raptors! Baseball season has come to an end in Toronto and training camp is about to open for our basketball hopefuls. The coach, Sam Mitchell, is back in town holding press conferences to generate interest in this year's version of the team.Mitchell told reporters that he went "cold turkey" on profanity two months ago and plans to forego swearing from now on. In this potty-mouthed day and age it seemed like a quaint announcement. The reaction was predictable. Why is this news, some asked. Others said they couldn't give a *#^& as long as the team wins. Mitchell says he's doing it as a project to improve himself as a person, something he wants to model and encourage for his players.
It wasn't that long ago that public swearing would have been the news. Whatever someone did behind closed doors was their business, but offensive language in public was frowned upon. It was considered crude and an indication of moral weakness. I can't claim to be without blemish when it comes to cussin' under pressure, but I am old enough to be astonished when people let fly anywhere, anytime. Several guys in midlife were nearby at the gym the other day, speaking loudly and swearing profusely in regular conversation. They seemed to have no concern for the people around them. Why? It was noise pollution.
When we read the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) Jesus suggests that our interior life is as important as what we show on the inside. And what issues from our mouths matters. Profanity is one of those bad habits which have become all too common in our culture.
I admire Sam Mitchell for putting it out there. I hope his resolve holds during the games which are frustrating, and there probably will be plenty.
In a culture that glorifies the individual, it is surprising how far we have strayed from introspection. In the past the most respected people were powerful speakers. A person's command of the language meant something. It informed us, the listeners. It was like a good suit. It spoke of a personal philosophy. It built trust. It spoke of wisdom. It seems to me that there is a powerful link between our choice of words and our actions, and we may be acting on our choice of words without realizing the powerful potential of the wisely chosen word. We may be losing the ability to see the cause and effect relationship between the words we chose and the actions that follow them. So often it is a word that leads to catastrophe or diverts a war. A word with the power to change chaos into order is never a lazy one.
ReplyDeleteAll true...and Sam Mitchell wears finely tailored suits!
ReplyDeleteWords hold power. I wonder if using these words gives people a sense of power? The power of shocking others. The power of being able to do what one wants to do. The power get away with what some think is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also think that for many in the younger generation, some of language seen as inappropriate is no big deal. When you hear it all the time in music, on the screen, and on the net, it just becomes a part of the language.
I know I have always been one to avoid bad language and in fact, I find much of it to be sexist; but I am the minority.