Standing In

ÒWhatÕs to become of me?Ó wailed a tearful Scarlett OÕHara.

To which Rhett Butler responded, ÒFrankly, my dear, I donÕt give a damn.Ó

The American movie-going public was shocked.

Fast-forward to 2010, and an Academy Award-winning actor verbally abuses a former live-in girlfriend, using language that would make Rhett blush. We are spared the actual language as the media replace the offensive words with bleeps and the recorded diatribe is broadcast repeatedly for all to see and hear. We must mentally fill in the blanks with the deleted language, because this is classed as Òadult languageÓ by the Federal Communications Commission.

We can do that easily, since we are daily exposed to that kind of language in sound bites of presidents, senators, legislators and other high-profile business and public figures, with the words bleeped out. A deposed governor uses gutter talk and excuses it by saying, ÒThatÕs the way we all talk in Chicago,Ó while millionaire athletes use playground language and we accept it because we accept that theyÕre still on a sort of playground.

I prefer to think of that kind of language as Òjunior high school language,Ó rather than Òadult languageÓ because theyÕre words I learned in junior high school, and at the time, in my immature mind, I thought by using these words I would sound Ògrown up.Ó

I remember when I got into high school, reading that those who resorted to that kind of language probably did so because of an inability to express themselves forcibly, due to an inadequate vocabulary, I resolved that I would make every effort to exclude Òjunior high school languageÓ from my vocabulary.

I wish I could say that IÕve been 100 percent successful, but, sad to say, I still have my memory (some of it), and I occasionally ÒthinkÓ like a junior high school kid when I mash my thumb with a hammer or on some other occasion.

Have we really Òcome a long way, babyÓ? In the Õ50s, we were introduced to the Òjunior high speech movementÓ in Sproul Plaza at the University of California. They called it by a different name, but it was just an earlier manifestation of an inadequate vocabulary, sailing under the banner of free speech guaranteed by our Constitution. It has continued until it now infests our entire culture from grade school to the highest (?) levels of international discourse.

Nineteen hundred years ago, a journalist in the Middle East counseled his readers, ÒDo not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others upÉÓ Sounds like a good filter for how we speak to others. (ThatÕs from the Bible, BTW. ThereÕs a lot of other good stuff in there, too.)

I have to ask, ÒFor all the advanced technology, are movies really any better?Ó Computerized animation and special effects have made great strides in the movies, but do we really need Òjunior high schoolÓ dialogue? And are actors and actresses really so lacking in verbal and acting skills that they must fall back on Òjunior high schoolÓ language to make their point? Must writers and directors resort to Òjunior high schoolÓ language in their efforts to portray ÒrealityÓ and attract an audience?

I donÕt think so.

Ñ Dick Lindholtz began to practice optometry in Davis in 1952. He and his late wife, Barbara, participated in the founding of the University Covenant Church and were named recipients of the C.A. Covell Citizen of the Year Award in 1989.

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