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¢ >" 6 -- Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, July 16, 1991 ---- EDITORIAL @ : Age of A 12-year old is reminded on several occasions by the teacher to stop using profanity in the classroom. * Finally, after the youngster uses an especially vulgar phrase in a loud véice, the teacher sends him'to see the principal. The youngster uses,exactly the same phrase in the princi- pal's office proclaiming he can say what he likes because that's what he does at home. . In a major league baseball game, one of the more talented pitchers playirig for a well-known team disagrees with a call by the home plate umpire. The TV cameras zero in on the pitcher's faceqand catch the torrent of four-letter words tum- bling out. Crude 10 the findl degree, homa.viewers need not be lip readers to know exactly what is being said. The pitcher later says he didn't say, that at all, like Pierre Trudeau Said "fuddle duddle" in the House of Commons 'a few years ago. Stroll by a group of young people, "hanging out" on any street comer or in one of the ghastly malls that pass as places of commerce these days. Four-letter words of every descrip- tion are a dime-a-dozen, spewing forth from these young mouths in a gush that would do Linda Blair proud. This age we Jive in has been called many things by many vulgarity" fits as well as any of them. The language of the gutter has moved to the street and from the street to the home, the classroom, thé office, the sporls arena; the air-waves, stage films and books that pose as liter- ature. Even casual conversation between people of all ages and both sexes is sprinkled with vulgar words and expressions that serve no purpose to the dialogue other than to illustrate that the.user has heard themuat least once before. Not only are the ears assaulted by this revolution of gutter talk, but public vulgarity takes on other forms as well: from bumper stigkers to the fronts of t-shirts. Many worry about thé gradial and riot-so-gradual erosion of institutions that at one time were the bed-rock of society. The death of proper, decent language should be counted among them. ; Has it become, in this age of instant communication, impos- _ sible to carry on a conversation without words that describe body parts and functions? Can a film not be made, a book not written, without using that F-word? What has happened to decency in language? As a society, we are in serious trouble if our thoughts are as polluted as our language. After all, there is a relationship between thought and language. ~ We are not just making reference to the occasional lapse into.poor or even bad taste. What we are seeing and hearing is an ou-flow of pure vulgarity, a vicious assault on language (not to"mention the sense of decency still maintained by some) Jf we lose this war with vulgarity, if our language, the writ- ten and spoken word, continues to be attacked and butchered in a loud and profane voice on every street comer, what else is left to lose? = t : Do we clean up our language or let ourselves just wallow déeper in the muck and mire and eventually succumb td thé Andrew Dice Clays of this world? Refraining from public profanity or displays of vulgarity is not a sign of prudishness. And we don't need "off the wall" societies springing up to-preserve and protect the English lan- guage in all its purity. * What we do need is a tiny bit of common sense and cour- tesy, both of which are in short supply. in many circles these .days. Likewise self-discipline. Can you get through a day without once using that dreaded word? Lament what you will about the direction society has taken these days. And weep for the death of decency in the way we speak to each qther, vulgarity people. But there can be no doubt that calling it the age of | "TIME TO GO HOME, HOMBRE, AND TAKE OFF THEM SPURS." . [ Pirjo Selistemagi is an artist living just north of Sonya. | * LETTERS TO THE EDITOR T Phrase not comp ted? To the Editor: on the mother. Abortion is a vio- In reference to the letter from ~slent act against the mother and the Brenda Newsome (Scugog Citizen, July 3) about abortion, I fedl she did not clearly complete the phrase "right to choose." Minus all the rhetoric used to cloud this issue, pro-abottionists are demanding "the right to choose... 10 kill a child." sWhy don't pro-abortionists simply say that instead of using terms such as "terminaging a preg- * nancy?" ! It is biological fact that the un- born child is alive and is a distinc. tively unique human being from conceptionan, and that abortion is a deliberate attack to kill the child. Yes, killing her own child does have profound psychological, physical and social consequences child. The post-abortive mother will feel lonely, helpless, abused and angry, and perhaps suffer serious physical complications. And the child will be dead. : In the event of a crisis pregnan- cy, a woman does not need pebple 10 encourage, cven demand, that she murder her child. She needs proper information about her un- bom child and support 10 let her To the Editor: Wa would like fo commend you Tor 'your fair coverage of the 'Life Chain" 'held last month along Highway 2 in Durham Region. We are also glad for the thou- sands of people. who were willing to stand for the babies who cannot * speak for themselves, 10 let people Story appreciated child live-a generous, positive solution in an estremely difficult® situation. Ms. Newsome, please extend your obvious' concern for childfen and mothers to the uniest children- the untborn-and to mothers of un- born children so that all childrene can protected and nurtured in a loving community such as ours. Rosemary Connell, Port Perry. know th ortion kills chy- dren." Also, a recent Viewpoint coluntn in the €itizen by John McClelland encourage ps as we sce him take a sand petit of the un-born " a | We thank you, sir. Lois Barron, Kenneth Barron Reader encouraged To the editor: » The coprtesy shown by the young people at our beer garden on Fesival Days was very encour- ging. Thank-you. Phil & Sylvia McBride Galley Fish & Seafood A Proud Volos For Scugoy 36 Water Street Port Perry, Ontario Phone: 985-NEWS _ Fax: 985-1410 The Scugog Citizen is delivered free of charge to more than 8,500 homes in Scugog Township every Tuesday. Printed on 10% recycled newsprint. Published by Scugog Citizen Publishing Ltd. Proud Co-publishers: . ~ . Vplerie Ellis - John B. McClelland - Cathy Olliffe Canadians ¥ News: John B. McClelland - Cathy Olliffe proud to call Advertising Manage: Scugog Valerie Ellis 1 Advertising SalewCirculation: Township Doug Olliffe 'home'. Bookkeeper: Darlene Hlozan Reception: Mary Wallis