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WHYDOMEN
IANDWOMENI
USE PROFANITV?
by
Herberl
W.
Armstrong
lla-. you
ever been shoeked
and
perhaps
dccply
hun
to
hear for tbe
tirSl
lime w.ne–
on~
you lr.new
~ell
- someone you hQd
highly respected and honored - pounng
a
1orren1 or prora
m~
y out of bis moullt lile
a
¡u;hon¡ fire h)dranl?
The
firs1 11me
1 expe:neoocd $uch a shocl
w;u
many yurs ag.o.
J
was visitin&one
Su_n–
day
1fiemoon
wtth
a man
1
bad known
for •
Ion¡ ume.
1
kncw him well - or
1
lltoughl
1
dod.
1
knew hom
as
a man or pnnciples and
hogh standards. Whole
1
did not oonSiantly
thtnk aboul il, he had always been a man of
citan :.peeeh ond higb mora1
char.acter.
rhen
a
nei¡¡hoor of bis dropped
m
My
rriend
W(b
o~ou.:; ide
his residencc doing a little
work himselr on his car.
As
soon as his
neighbor carne olong. suddenly his wholc
manner or speech changed. and he spewtd
ou1
a
torrent of profanity and fihhy lan·
guage
lt
was lole beong shoeked unexpectedly
woth
o
sudden boh of eleetncit) All of
1
1udden he
w:a.s
like a lOtally ddfercnl man
N<>er had he spoken like th>t in
m)
pres–
ence!
WI•J·'
Wh>t eaused lite suddcn citan¡< '"
personahty and manner of speceh? lmm«<J·
alcly
1
nolloed lhe neighbor was very fluent
w1th h1s profanuy and diny language.
h
w:u
nnmedtalely apparen1 1hat my friend had
becn t\ccustomed to using sucb languagc
whcn in thc company
or
this ncig.hbor. He
must have known he was shod::ing me. Out
was he ashamed co let me hear such roul
language Oow OUI Of his mouth? Apparently
noc.
Ccttninly,
he wouJd h.ave bctn
motY
ashamed 10 lel his netghbor hear h•m usmg
clean spccch bccause
ofmy
presence.
Why
is a normal, c:a.maJ
human
bemg
tUham<t/
Of
appeartng ""good'" lO th03e he
knows
are
nol
··gooc~•·
and make no profe>·
SIOR
o(
betng so?
Wby
does human
naiUI'C:
'AJOI lO
appcar
cvil an lbc presencc
O(
cvil
and
good
IR
lhe pr<SCIICC Of good"? 0f
course. oonc: is rcally good. Sorne
or
us.
1
hope. do not go oomplctely out ofour way to
1mpre"
othen
thal we are justas cviJ - JUSI
as
much one
o(
lite "bad guys·· -
as
they
are.
How ofien
do
people try to imprcss you
wuh lheir cvil by saying braggingly, ..Well.
orcourse, J'm nosaint:•
1
just dashed off on my portable type·
writer - which 1 always CD.rry with me
oruund the world - a sbort piece for lite
Plaln Truth
on whal 1
talk
about when 1
mect head\
of
state. 1 talk. with them
aOOut
world problems and tbe kind or problems in
general whoeh they muSI try to oope willt.
1
talk aboul allthe problems and EVrLS people
a.re
sutrcnng '"
the
world.
But
WHY all1bcsc.
lroublcs and evils? Wbat causes lltem?
lt
all ¡oes
back
toa w..v
01'
un. 1 repre·
scnl the Creator Ood - lite Crealor of lhe
people or every nation ..hose prcsodent.
k.ns,.
pnme
ministcr or other officia1 1 mect.
What is God
intcrc:sted
an?
Troubles., prob·
lcms.
cv1Ls?
t
represent
thc
lwang
C'hnst.
More 1han 1900 years ago the Ood of all
nations and
peoplcs sc:nt him to
t.his
earth
wuh
a message for mankind. That
me~agc
had 10
do
with govemment - with rcgu·
laliOn of lhe people - with
3
way of lirc
whieh would produce pcacc. happincss. loiJII
good.
Onc or
thc cvils
prevcntmg th1s
~·orld
from havong peacc, happiness. and IOtaJ
good is thll quirk or human nalure lltal
scems
to
tale pnde in being one of lite "bad
¡uy),..
say1ng.. ..
l'm oo saint." What ma.kes
.ome people feel ashamtd of appeanng 10
6
orchids~~
_
~n1ons
letters
Wh.ate~cr
pbyste:a.l
shape u may
cvcn·
lually tale.
1
fccl
sute
lhis maganne woll
~nunue
10
s.hape-
li\e;s
:u
it hu done to
mane.
SpmiUaJly oriented
world news IS
a
mu);t
in 1h110 disorpniud
time.
Marg_arct
Rus!<ell.
Woodl•wn.
TX
l'm
writing
11\IS
lener bceausc
1
witth
lO
liUb4JCrlbe 10
your
in.spir'3tional and
up–
lifain¡ ma,gu,zinc. As has
already
been
dem·
onstnucd 10 me
your ide,al$
have
a
very
wonhwh1le
effcct '" m
y
fine
or
work ,
1
work for 1hc Doy ScouiS of Ameroco
11>
a
profcuional
Scout
E.xecuuve.
1
fcel
&h.al
your
pubhcattOn
can be most
helpful
10
ansulhn¡ sn tc:cn-agcrs a deep aod ab•dm¡
rapcct
(or God
and
sud\
vinues as hon·
<Siy. onl<¡nty and lhe belocf thal good "' '"
lrtumph ovcr
c:vil ..
At fir>t (our( auempts to rorm Scout
UAIU
among Portland"s
dehnquents
mct
wuh fatlurc, but
later
usiog thc ideals of
Plom Truth,
wc wcrc able:
to
Rach &he
tecn-agers
1n
the
10ncr-e:uy
and 10
hclp
them.
Now
m
addition
lo camping and
othcr outdoor aeuvilics. rcading and
dts-–
cussing articlcs in
Pluln Truth
fotm a vital
I
>Url
or
thc program. On behalf of
m
y eol·
<Agues,
1
thank you for the good you have
done.
Thomas
Tarara.
Haverholl. MA
Obv.ously ll
·~
necessary ror you lO cut
your producuon
CO$lS.
Frnnkly.
howc,·c.r.
l"m duboous tha\ produeing a phy>1call)
u¡hcr mapz.tne
wlU help
)OU
to
rcach
the
lar¡c orculauon
)'OU
are
Strivan¡
for_ •••
You see. mO<t people throw
"""Y
less
11·
lractavc mag,alJnes -
aod
thus
lose a
ccr–
taiO rcfcrral
value...
1
ha,·c been
in
thc
ma.gazine
busm~.
and bclicve me a less
attrac:uvc
piece
or
htera1ure
usually winds up in
the
tra.sh
can.
In foct. lhe
áCI
or
disposing or the physical
pnper ilsetr does
to
Sf.)ffit
extent affect thc
rc1cntion of the ideas and infOrnHtllon m
thc
litcrature
Moreovcr, the g.rayer. chcaper stock
paper " somewhat mes:sy and a bu lc:M
plea$ant to rcad.
1
know pcople woo do nol
care to re:ad newspapers partly for
thtJ
rea·
son
be "good" 1 doo"t mean "preuy good."" 1
mean ¡ust normally upright and
good
Wby.
for eumple. would maoy fcel qune embar·
raSSC-d 10
be
seen wa1k.in& down the streel
earrytng a Btble?
Do
lh<y nol rcahze tbat Ood"s way of hfe
- the
way Jcsus taught - is the way for our
own good? Ood docs no1 forbid one thing
chal
i.s
not harmful
to
ourselvcs directly and
indircctly nnd
ortcn harrnfuJ
to
others.
Jt
i.s
sin,ply
lhc clcan, honcst Slrajght·
forward way which is righl for everybody.
But usmg profanity - using the namc
or
our
Creator
and
thc
source
of
cverything
good thOI we w,....rr disrespeetfully or even
hostilely or jn a disparagiog man.ncr - cer–
tainly that
tS
somcthin¡
utterly
witbout
CA·
cuse. And the use of diny oommcniS whk:h
so oncn aa:ompanics that son
of
tall
ur-
Aho. m rny scllm3
c:xpc.nen.c:e,
1
ncvcr
Lncw
bul
t~o
pubhcauon.s
out
of
hun–
dt'e'c4.
pnntcd
on such p.apcr. tbat
C\'Cf
achtC\Cd
1
remartablc
cm:ulatton
fi¡–
ure . and
)OU
are: uying
to
ac:hte\e
"a
remarl<able figure .··
Hov.·evc:r,
tough the suuation may
be.
one c:annol cut quality in any manner
and
reach
your present cxpectations.
Why not
go
ou1 and look al 1he ..
,.&
shcc:•~··
on the
racks.
Such pubticauons.
almost
wuhout cxception. are forccd to
use ads
and
scns.ationalism
to crack thc
nut.
Realo<ucally. if you cu1 your qualuy you
mu.st also cut your expcctation.s
down.
t
hkc
your
publication. other"'ise
J
would
not be
concem~
cnough
10
&JVC
3 rcply
w.
C. Marler.
Soulit Pasadena. CA
Wc commcnd your
unc:omprom~Jn&
5taod apinsl lltese blilltering. medooc:re.
$ponelcss, lobera! milksops. wbo
pass
lbem·
scheJ otr
u
thc-ofogtans.. pastors and
mtRI\–
ten of Ood. Amodst the bletding hcart
romanttc•sm
of
the snivcling
humanl5ts
tand
the
m«:hanLSIK dcbumanazauon
or
current
~icntasm.
debauched by
thc
rat•on–
abtallons
or
a
pagan
technocracy. your
"'agntinc.
lhc
Plaln
Tr"th,
as well o.s
your
cxtrancous
pnmphlets,
shine
out as a
ray
or
rcvcolc:d sunshlne
in a world
en.shroudcd
by lhc darkncss ofsin.
1
hl$
bnngs
U$
10
the
poiot
or
this
lettcr.
We would destre to
havc
our
mstitutton
plaeed on your mailing usL
Pie~
•end
your mapLine to
Eastem
Mennotute
Col·
le'e Lobrary, Thank you for your ktnd ••·
tenuon
Oary Harkons.
Media Rdations Director.
Harrisonburs. VA
1
en)Oy readin¡ your magazine but
1
do
feel.
that many of your anides havc a tcn–
dency
10
wander beforc
mabng
thetr
poonl. Also.
1
feel lltat 1he reader is pr<·
sumed
lo have very liulc
education.
or that
he: is unable to
grasp
a
particular
powl
unteS$ h
jj
rc:peatedly mentioned. Of
thc:
1ndividuals
1
know who
do read
Plaí11
Trutlr
this
IS
definitely
not
thc
case.
1
know
of a few cases
whcrc
you have lost 1hc
lnttrCSI
or
the
rcader
betause
lhty
fch
th:H
they werc beong ••talked down lo.. rather
1han
bt•ns
gi..-·cn
a
bit
of infonnataon.
1
cont1nue
to read in spite
of
t.his ' 'ety sa.mc
tatnly
docs
nol refteOI aoylltingm
onC.
char·
acler lhaltS nght and good.
The way <>flife lhat is Ood"s
is
not
··goody
goody,- sossy. or anylltong to be asham«< or.
b•• stmply doon¡ whao i< rigbt ror our good.
h
reftects our
C'HARAettR.
Jt
1s
recordcd in
James lhat
"che
tongue ••. " an unruly cvil. full or deadly
poison .••. Out of thc same mouth
procced~
cth blessing and cursing. M
y
brethrcn, thette
1hln&S ought not to be"' (James 3:8·10).
1•hít
quirk
in
human naturc that takcs
pride in using profane aod filthy languagc is
part or
that
n:uure
and
attitude that
has
broughl all thl$ world's evils upon us.
1
procla.tm
lhc:
WAY rO WOALD PEACt.
A
cle:an-minded
auitudc
is
basically
csscnuaJ
to ony people who hne worked for WOOLO
,¡:A('E, 0
fechng becau>e 1
r••,
you do have a very
unporta.nt mc:o,;:>agc to bnn.g. bu1
1
would
like to sec a
fc:w
more
intcllectutdly chal–
ltng•ng nrticle)-,
Phílip A, Fu»
111 .
Otange Park. FL
11
as
very dinicuh
for
me Lo understand
wh:u
progre.ss can
be
made m lndta
b)
your speaktn& to thesc people in Bombay
lnd101 1\
cvidc:ntly
\oel)' dcvotcd to dcveJ.
opm¡
the
nuclear
bomb
and
all Olhcr
tm·
rtemc:nb
or wañare.
an-d nol
conccmcd
Wlth llS SIIMRJ
milhons.
Please understaod. Mr. Arrnstmng. th>ll
a
m
not
au.ad:tn&
you an any way.
h'~
juSl
thlt
1
find
U
dtfficuh lO
reoonale
lite polh
lndta
a¡
trudm& and
your
speating to
lhem aoout peacc. goodwill. love. and
eompaliston,
whcn
11
is
obvious
their
wtlls
and
mmd~
are:
dedicated
10 the oppostte
way
1 do
hope
thts lcuer is delivered to
you
Rnd chut
perhap$
you would
wñ1e some–
thíng
CXflaining
Lhis vcry
baffiing
sito·
auon
1
~tnccrc ly
hope this finds you. Mr.
Radtr. ond
•11
in 1he best of heahh.
Mrs.
Charles
Tooracn.
Shrevepon.. Louts1ana
Conccrnan¡
)Our
editonal
tn
lhe
January
&»ue. l thml. it was
wnuen
in an unobJec–
h\C
manncr.
contrary
to
whal
thc name
of
)OUr
ma¡azane:
tmplic:s.
Anyone can toke excerprs fmm a bool .
and
by
takin&
thcm
oua
of contcxt makc
the
boo~
><cm
to
be lite most decadeol ond
arre..-.erenl
book
C'-Cf
wrincn. includin¡
thc-
8tb1c
wiah us
tales of mcest.
pr'O$liauuon.
cte.
A book (:annot
derend uself unlcss
prc.senac:d
m liS cnrircty. Thercfore tC
Í!
casy ror
somc:one
wilh a certain l3ck
or
intclligcnc:c
or
imag•nallon 10
givc
a
Stcm·
ln¡ly sound ;:trgument against il 1 hove
been enjoying
Plaln Truth
for many ycors
.)0 1 know you do n01 l3ck
intclligcnce.
Pcrh3ps you only tadc a un.se or fairnm.
or
of
open-mmdedness.
You
sa.y.
s•ne:e pra}tr
IS
oot
ai.IO'ó\·cd m
<ehool, neilher should pomography be.
Nobody outlawtd the Boble in
school.
only
the by·product Ltkewisc. lheoc boou
<hould not be banned. but orgies
in
class–
rooms,hould
1 rtalile 1h1s
tener
may makc
me
se-cm
trrcverenc
Nothtng
could
be
funhcr from
lhe
&ruth. h is stmply tbat
t
hatc
to ¡ce
ccnsorshtp and
)'CIIow
joumahsm
any·
where.
1
especoally dislike pcople who fcel
so
self·tmportant ohat they 1hink they
should ha
ve
the
powcr lo dcprive othcrs of
lhcir righiS 10 freedom
of
speech and or thc
press
r
would
\Uggest
next time you prese:nt
the
whole story, instead of a particlc you
can tw1st 10 su1t your own opin•on.
TomMoorc.
Canon. CA
Paradoxical Proverbs
"Look before )Ou lcap." but remcmber.
"he
who
hesnates
as
fost."'
..Abstnce:
mak~
ahe: hcara
grow
fondcr:·
but
thcn,
t•out
of
s:tg.ht, out of
miod ·•
"Seetng
t$
bcliev.ng."
but don•t forget ..the
h:wd-is
q uld:er
than the eye."
"'Tht
squea~ing
wheel geiS lite greasc;· but
'"at's the
silent
sow
that gcts thc
swill."
"Opp«mes
:lttract:• but "birds of a
fealhcr
ftock toge_•_he_r_:·-,.--..,--
...A p1cturc
ts
worth ten tbousand
•·ords:'
bu1 u took only
~en
words
(and
no
pocture) to express that idea.
WEEK ENOINO MARCH 22.
1975