Politicians swear too much

“This is a big fucking deal.”

— Joseph Biden, Vice President of the United States, March 23.

“We’re fucked.”

“The whole world is fucked.”

— Exchange between Frank McKenna, former premier of New Brunswick, and Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada, March 28

“FUCK YOU! FUCK, FUCK, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!”

— Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (as quoted in Game Change, p. 279)

I recently finished reading Game Change, Mark Halperin’s epic chronology of the 2008 US Presidential Election. It’s an incredibly readable and riveting behind-the-scenes account of everything that colored that fantastic race, from Hillary Clinton’s arrogant sense of entitlement (she began planning her cabinet before even winning the nomination) to John Edward’s psychopathic egotism (even amid the most lurid revelations of his affair, he still believed Obama would tap him for attorney-general) to Palin’s insecure breakdowns (almost all of McCain’s people quickly realized she was not emotionally or intellectually stable enough to handle the job, including the weepy governor herself).

But the revelation that most surprised me, in all honesty, was just how much the politicians swear. Perhaps I am just astonishingly naïve about this, but I really did not imagine McCain, Obama, Hillary et al to be the kind of people who throw around language like “fuck him” or “I don’t give a shit” or whatever when talking to their staff or family members. The fact that McCain is portrayed as the most prolific curser of all was particularly unsettling. This from the guy representing the family values/good-Christian-morals party?

I understand why they do it, of course. One of my friends summarized it as such— “These people are so powerful and important, everything they say already has so much impact. When they swear, their words must be just on fire.” In more casual contexts, I’m sure friendly swearing likewise helps enforce the cliquey frat house jocularity most candidates seem to desire within their inner circle. It doesn’t make the practice any more excusable, though.

Swearing is one thing I am pretty uniformly against. I think it represents a serious decline in the quality of our communication, and thus language, and thus culture. It’s also a fundamentally immature and childish way of talking, since swearing is based around extremist emotional reactions you can’t be bothered to moderate or mollify. It’s a form of spitting out language, rather than speaking like a thoughtful adult.

Morality is a hot issue in contemporary politics, and everyone wants to be on the side of decency and respect. When politicians proceed to prove themselves unworthy of that cause by having affairs or taking bribes or brazenly lying, and so on, we all respond with righteous outrage. It’s problematic that we don’t consider swearing a similarly serious discredit, because it’s every bit as hypocritical. If you’re some conservative who claims to be concerned about sexual morality, for instance, then you should not use vulgar sexualized language that cheapens the act. If you’re a liberal who believes in female empowerment then you shouldn’t be implying that fucking other people is the ultimate punishment to either give or receive.

Everyone is so used to our favorite swears that no one analyzes their meaning anymore. But the meanings are vile, and when even our most basic conversations are peppered with vile expressions, it becomes that much harder to obtain that elusive spirit of decorum and moderation everyone claims to be chasing.

No politician can honestly claim to be a defender of our cultural dignity when they so gleefully embrace a style of speaking that is doing so much to erode it.