“What is man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor.” (Psalm 8:5-6)
The passage of Psalm 8 declares that God has made man a little less than the angels. Thus, we should act in a manner similar to that of angels.
One way this was manifested in Christian civilization was in speech. People lived up to their Christian witness by adopting languages used in polite company.
Swearing, cursing and vulgarity have always been associated with those who do not live Christian or virtuous lives. This stigma made even those who were not Christian mindful of avoiding foul language on many occasions.
Eternal and Natural Law: The Foundation of Morals and Law
This negative perception of vulgarity is no longer valid. The increased acceptance of vulgar language is everywhere. Vulgarity has swept over society in every aspect, much like a tsunami. What was once so rare today is common. People do not consider whether priests, religious, women or children are present. There is a total absence of self-restraint.
The use of foul language now extends to every race, sex, age and state of life. Instead of being castigated as something censorable, people use vulgar speech as a way of fitting in with a culture that idolizes this usage as “cool” or “radical.”
Vulgarity has a leveling influence, which reduces everything to the lowest possible level. Thus, the rich, the highly educated and even religious think using such language is a sign of equality, not depravity.
Some who identify themselves as religious, conservative, pro-life or pro-family sometimes use vulgarity and seem to feel no shame in doing so. For our godless society, using vulgarity somehow makes one’s opinion stronger.
The left has especially resorted to vulgarity instead of arguments to sustain its position. For example, those who participate in America Needs Fatima’s rallies of reparation against Drag Queen Story Hours will experience torrents of vulgarity from the opposition. Indeed, vulgar insults are all the opponents of Christian civilization have. They have no cogent arguments.
Tradition, Family, Property’s Student Action videos likewise experience foul language when calling for a return to morality and civility. TFP members find an interior strength in presenting their rational arguments. Opponents demonstrate moral weakness, lack of character and dearth of conviction.
Vulgarity is associated with all things evil. The most intense examples of vulgarity come from the possessed. Accounts of satanic possessions or manifestations have one common denominator: extreme use of vulgarity. Vulgarity and blasphemy might be called the language of demons.
Some might ask what is wrong with vulgarity. First of all, it is an offense against God and Christian charity. Saint Paul commands, “Put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander and foul talk from your mouth”(Colossians 3:8). Secondly, foul speech goes against the nature and end of speech, which is the communication of the truth, good and beauty to others. Thus, good speech should elevate and ennoble. Vulgar speech is barbaric and animalistic. It drags a person down into the mud.
The causes of this flood of vulgarity are many.
Learn All About the Prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success About Our Times
The first one is the destruction of the walls of decency that used to defend society from its attacks. In the past, vulgarity was not only frowned upon but strongly censured. Public expressions of vulgarity were met with disgust and even confrontation.
Children were formed to avoid using vulgarity. In the past, good mothers warned children that if a vulgar word was used, a bar of soap awaited them.
Another cause of increased vulgarity is today’s horrible culture of death. When society accepts the murder of unborn children, counterfeit marriage and pornography, it cheapens all life. People no longer are focused on the practice of virtue but on selfish narcissism. If the body cannot be controlled, language also suffers since it requires effort and virtue to speak well. Those who do not defend innocent human life, traditional marriage or the traditional family easily avoid restraint in every facet of life, including language.
Another reason for an increase in vulgarity is the extreme casualness of our society. Those who do not make the effort to groom and dress in an uplifting manner will tend to be lax in the use of language. To use good posture, wear a suit and tie, wear a nice dress, etc., requires effort and self-restraint that is often (but not always) reflected in language. The accepted uniform of our times is denim, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. This manner of dress is seen everywhere and in almost all situations, including at Holy Mass.
If one is casual and lazy about the little things in life, this can also lead to casualness and laziness about important things in life, including the use of language. Vulgarity is especially reflected in ripped jeans, dirty t-shirts, and grubby tennis shoes. Grooming and dressing well encourages good behavior and cleanliness in manner and language. Vulgarity and unnecessary casualness can create a sense of feeling dirty that manifests itself in language.
10 Razones Por las Cuales el “Matrimonio” Homosexual es Dañino y tiene que Ser Desaprobado
If we want to demonstrate our love for God above all things, we should do all that we can to adore and please Him. We should act like angels.
Let’s reject today’s vulgar, contemporary culture that wants to push us away from God and toward Satan.
“From filthy speaking, we ourselves must entirely abstain and stop the mouths of those who practice it by stern looks and averting the face and by what we call making a mock of one: often also by a harsher mode of speech. For what proceedeth out of the mouth, He says, ‘defileth a man, ‘—shows him to be unclean, heathenish, untrained, licentious, and not, select, proper, honourable and temperate.”
-Saint Clement of Alexandria