Regarding Profanity in Our Pages
On August 3rd, 1776, George Washington issued the following order to the officers of the Continental Army:
The General is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice hitherto little known in our American Army is growing into fashion. He hopes that the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it and that both they and the men will reflect that we can little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our army if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this it is a vice so mean and low without any temptation that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.
(signed) General George Washington
Times (and perhaps the armed forces) have changed. It has become common practice in conversation, not only that of a casual personal nature but even in the public discourse of government, to utilize words that were once avoided it polite society. And this is the case as well in journalism; it seems there is little that is not fit to print. Nonetheless, while we do not want to be puritanical, we do want to strive for traditional standards of decency and for Washington’s higher, older art of creating strong language without relying on off-color words (as marvelously demonstrated above).
The way a person dresses and carries himself expresses something about his character and also, over time, creates something about his character. The same can be said of the language he uses. And the same can be said of the language a periodical uses. For this reason (and within reason), Hearth & Field tries to avoid “profane cursing and swearing” in our pages. Besides which, given their modern ubiquity, such words now do little or nothing to create shock or attention anyway.