Words

I've been mulling this one over for some time, trying to find just the right way to describe how I feel about it.

Words are just words.  Sentences can move nations, however.  They can bring people up and they can tear them down.  They can bolster self esteem or they can cause lifetime scars.  Sentences can make you cry or get you to laugh.  Sentences can have a lot of power.  Individual words only have power if you give them power and they really only have power in context.  Shit, for example, is just a word.  Like all words, it can be used to describe, or to hurt, or to simply express oneself.  Saying, "You are a total shithead!" can really hurt someone, but on the other hand, "Shit, I'm sorry I forgot to bring that thing with me." is just an expression and causes no harm to anyone.  Focusing on individual words instead of the context in which they are being used is where the power comes from.  I used to have a big problem with cuss words and people cussing around me, but I realized at some point, that I couldn't control those around me, and that by getting mad at them for using language they were used to using, and they saw no problem with using, just made me out to be a jerk and caused me unnecessary stress, so I started simply ignoring the words I found offensive and stopped judging those that used them.  I found I could more completely enjoy people's company in this way and I enjoyed parties and get-togethers much more.  Sometime in the last several years, I really thought about my inability to use certain words and how silly it was and then, one day, I broke my filter, so to speak.  Once this was broken, I realized just how much power I had given to cuss words and I realized they are just words like any other, and it's how they are used, the context in which they are used, where the power truly lies.  Any word at all can be turned into a "bad" word.  What you, as an individual, find offensive is subjective.  I know I mention him a lot lately, but Tim Minchin does a great skit on the subject here.  I completely agree with what he's saying there. 

Like all manners, there are times and places that certain things shouldn't be said or done. I respect that, and, also like manners, choose when and where to use them.  I'm not going to stand in the middle of a crowd and go deep digging for boogers up my nose.  Likewise, I will use please and thank you and not tell people to go shit themselves in polite company.  Being polite to your fellow man and not being a dick is what I respect and live by.  But, at the same time, I will use a variety of words simply because I feel like using them and see no reason why not to.  Words, in the end, really are just words.  If you are offended, it's because you have chosen to be offended.