You Cuss, Why Can't I?

Dear Daughter,

I was not happy that you took a quiz to discover your cuss word, then posted the result to your Facebook wall for all the world (or all your friends, they seem to be the same thing) to see. I noted my displeasure and, after a couple of days, you came back to me with a question: You cuss, so why can’t I? Since you ask, I will give you an answer, and I’m posting it to your wall for all the world to see.

1. I try not to cuss. Sometimes I fail. That’s part of being human.


2. When I do cuss (and by your own admission, it’s not often), it’s because my emotion overrides my reason. That’s not a good thing.


3. Cussing diminishes me as a person and tarnishes my character. I don’t want that for you. I want you to be better than I am. I want you to aspire to be better than you are.


4. Overuse of cuss words diminishes their impact. Since I don’t use them often, you know that when I do use them, my top has been blown.


5. Frequent use of vulgarities reveals a fundamental character flaw.


6. You’ll stand out more by finding creative ways to express your emotions than by falling back upon the basest words in the human vocabulary.

Whether you think it’s fair or not, people will judge you by the words you use. We all have negative traits to our characters. Even me. I hope that those aren’t the ones that you admire and choose to emulate.

You’ve called me to account on this one, and I promise that I’ll try to do better.