“Profanity is the parlance of the fool. Why curse when there is such a magnificent language with which to discourse?"
-Theodore Roosevelt
I’ve thought about this a lot lately as I see more and more public figures using profanity to make a point. It seems like they’re trying to demonstrate passion or attract a younger audience. Whatever the case, I think it lessens the impact of what they’re trying to say. There is a time and a place for profanity and it isn’t in public or in professional conversation. It is indeed the “parlance of the fool.”
British occupation forces in New York City hang convicted spy Nathan Hale.
He behaves with great composure, and on the gallows he declares: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
What if you walked like you drive? Cutting people off. Getting too close. Making aggressive moves. Aggressive driving doesn't belong on the road or the sidewalk. Slow down. Give space. Be predictable. Get there safely.
Today I reread a short story which I hope everybody will rediscover. Isaac Asimov's "The Machine That Won the War," originally published in 1961, reprinted in "Nightfall and Other Stories" (1969) and "Robot Dreams" (1986). A quick read, so no need to ask AI for a summary. 🪙
The United States may be entering the most dangerous period since the defeat at Fredericksburg in 1862. It is clear that our will to survive is declining. The Iranian religious dictatorship continues to chant “death to America” and continues to work on its nuclear program and its missile systems. It is openly allied with Russia, Communist China and North Korea. The. Iranians have been targeting Americans and are openly trying to drive the United States out of the Region. The Democrats have become their allies and consistently vote for surrender when the choice comes up in the Congress. Some Republicans have become tired of the fight and the confusion and would accept a face saving defeat. The American people entered this fight with a clear understanding of what is at stake. According to America’s New Majority Project 55% believe the Iranians really mean it when they say death to America (62% of independents). Nearly two thirds of Americans (64%) believe the nuclear threat is real. The Iranian refusal to negotiate in good faith helps convince 60% that the nuclear threat from Iran is real. In fact 64% of the American people believe that a nuclear armed Iran could target American cities and kill millions. A series of Presidential Oval Office addresses laying out the 47 year history of Iran attacking Americans, killing Americans, supporting terrorist groups to kill American and working consistently to build weapons to bring “death to America” would solidify support for an all out effort to replace the religiously inspired dictatorship which has proven again and again that it can take a tremendous amount of punishment and continue to work toward destroying America. We have to either defeat the Iranian dictatorship or accept a willingness to coexist with Iranian nuclear weapons and missiles capable of destroying our citizens and killing millions. We are at a crossroads and there is not a third choice.