To the Editor,

Now don’t get me wrong.  If you were around me when I stub my toe or break a favorite plate, your ears may wither a bit.  Profanity has its time and place throughout our society.  

Comedians use it, screenwriters use it, some singers use it, authors use it, and almost everyone in their daily expressions of disgust, anger, shock, pain and so on, use it. But unfortunately, over the course of the last several years, certain politicians use it and their supporters have therefore been given “permission” to be as vulgar as they wish in both the spoken and written word. Public speaking and displays of opinions seemed to be the last bastion of decent language and good taste, and there was a time in America, and it was not that long ago, when political language in particular adhered to certain generally accepted rules of decorum and professionalism. 

Yes, we have freedom of speech and it’s one of the great fundamental rights that we Americans enjoy.  There are some limits, such as not being able to use speech to incite violence and not being able to yell “fire” in a movie theater, but the language one can use in expressing an opinion, whether spoken, written or displayed on a flag waving in your front yard, is unlimited. However, even though we have been somewhat desensitized to it, using coarse, profane speech in polite society is still offensive and evidences a lack of sensitivity.  

We have a homeowner in our little town just south of the railroad tracks on Main Street who has taken profanity to a new extreme. The combination of their political opinion and the American flag is a true dichotomy. 

Alice Martin,

New York Mills