It seems there is a growing trend among politicians these days, using expletives during speeches, but is it good for their image?
Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia went on national television on Wednesday, looked into the camera and said of the NRA's proposal to put armed guards in schools it is a, “completely dumb#%# idea.” This is not the first time Mayor Nutter has used cursing to emphasize a point but he also not alone.
New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg once asked about a speech, “Who wrote this sh##?”
Rick Santorum yelled at a news reporters during his presidential run, “If I see it, its bull#$@*,”
Governor Christie of New Jersey once called another lawmaker an “arrogant SOB.”.
While politicians have always had a way with words, some wonder if the current blue streak is a reflection of the coarsening of pop culture because of such shows as, “The Jersey Shore”, “The Real Housewives,” and other shows. Others feel the language misuse is tied to each politicians desire to be seen as an average Joe, not a stuffy outsider or maybe just trying to get their points across.
One of the biggest problems with the use of salty language is it usually drowns out the rest of the message because people fixate on the “bad words” not the “good words” which is one of the reasons the Bible warns over and over again of being careful of the words which come out of a person's mouth. Here are just three.
Ephesians 4:29 ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Proverbs 18:20-21 ESV
From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 10:31-32 ESV
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
It takes a lot of effort to control the words which spill out of the mouth, but politicians, Christians, any person should try and hold their tongues in order to build up others as well as create an atmosphere of good will, not an atmosphere of derisiveness and intolerance.
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