The wife and I were walking through the mall over the weekend and got behind two good-sized young men who took up every inch of the walking area so you couldn't get around them. While we were waiting for an opportunity to pass them we couldn't help but hear some of their conversation and it was very explicit and profane. Why do young people, or older people for that matter, feel it's necessary to cuss like a sailor in public. One young man told me, "If my mother ever walked the halls of my school she would be shocked at the language of the teenagers."

Some of us have unfortunately been down that road, maybe not as profane as young people today, but nevertheless we had times when we should have had our mouths washed out with soap. Of course back when the parents objected to that kind of language, especially by teenagers. Now days the parents are where the teenagers learned the profanity in the first place usually, but not always. A recent survey showed that 89% of high school principals have faced profanity in their schools.

John Newton was a profane sailor and slave trader as a young man. He was converted and became a Christian, a clergy, and songwriter. One of his most remem- bered songs was "Amazing Grace." General George Washington on August 3, 1776 wrote in a letter, "I'm very sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane swearing, a vice hereto little known in the American Army is growing in fashion. I hope the officers will by example and influence be able to curb it." Harlan "Colonel" Sanders stated that when he got converted he lost half his vocabulary.

We all remember Richard Nixon and his tapes during the Watergate scandal. It was some of the filthiest language ever to be uttered by a President. It's been said that the average American male knows at least 58 swear words, the average female, 29. Evidently they haven't heard some of our young ladies today, they would make a sailor blush. Why do people swear? Does swearing ever help to win an argument? Does it ever make you more articulate or eloquent? Does it demonstrate how you deal with a difficult situation? By cleaning up our language we can gain more respect, have more influence and even feel better about ourselves. Swearing does damage, and it doesn't win us friends, dates, or jobs. If we want to clean up America, our towns, we can start by cleaning up our language.