Profanity

I have always wondered how cuss words achieved their status.  I mean, when you think about it, a cuss word is not that different than any other word.  There are no profane letters, and we define a profanity as a series of innocent letters in a particular order.  I turned to Webster for a better definition and received little help.

Profanity:
1 a : the quality or state of being profane b : the use of profane language
2 a : profane language b : an utterance of profane language

Profane:
1 : to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : desecrate
2 : to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use

So if Webster is to be believed, a profanity is a word that debases or desecrates something sacred with abuse, irreverence or contempt. Using that definition, I can readily identify why many or most cuss words are considered profane.  But what about that one popular profanity that means excrement?  The definition seems to fall apart.  Would anyone consider excrement to be something sacred?

So while I do not believe there is a consistent definition for what constitutes a profanity, neither will I begin to use those words.  I really never have.  I will admit that a few have crossed my lips.  Over time the number of such utterances has diminished.  The decline may be due to my work environment.  When I was a technician, most of my peers used profanity heavily.  As I moved into management, I heard much less.  Today, hearing a co-worker use profanity is rare, and usually related to extreme frustration.  Sometimes, it has more to do with a small vocabulary.

Lately, Terri and I have become interested in the HBO series, The Sopranos.  While the story of a mafia family is compelling, I fear the expletive laden dialogue has desensitized our ears to profanity.  Hearing the dialogue would have been more than we could withstand if not for the rounds of golf played with SILC, which began the desensitization process.  Okay, I do exaggerate. 

A little.