I actually had this in my drafts and don’t remember why I looked it up.
According to dictionary.com one adjective meaning of profane is characterized by irreverence or contempt for god or sacred principles or things; irreligious”. I don’t recall knowing this before I stumbled upon it. This sheds a new light for me on profanity.
I can remember one of my friends telling me that he cussed too much. I think I agreed with him that I did as well (though I could be subject to illusion). That conversation stuck with me quite a bit through the years, even though I didn’t do too well in my efforts to stop my bad language.
I think that my focus on the concern wasn’t such that I would remember my intention from the point of becoming aware of the problem to trying to work through overcoming it. These days such things are often flagged as ADD or ADHD, something that I don’t agree with. I believe that in my society we are so busy with our careers and lifestyles that we don’t spend as much time nurturing (shaping) our kids as we could so that they are better rounded.
I have a some early childhood experience, I’ve worked at a few summer camps and an after school program. I had those jobs more because I needed a job than had a love for kids; I didn’t dislike kids either. However, I did take a notice to the actions, concerns and situations of the kids that were placed in my charge. At some point I started noticing commonalities in their habits which, I believe many people have.
I’ve also worked at GameStop. That experience showed me a different side of the lives of children, their parents and guardians. I’d often heard people say that they were buying their kids games to keep them occupied or out of their hair. I had no idea that in so many cases did parents buy games so that they didn’t have to deal with their kids. My parents were usually reluctant to purchase games for me because they felt that I could be doing more constructive things; they did have a breaking point. Most of my friends parents shared the sentiments of mine or would sit with their kids while they were playing to understand and discuss the content of the games that were played.
Many of the parents who came in to my store used some of the foulest language that I’ve encountered in my 28 years of life. These people included angry people, drug addicts, drunkards, immature and neglectful parents. I believe that the socially conscious definition of what it means to be a parent has changed since I was a kid, even more so than when my parents were children. I do not believe that this means that the standards for parents should be lessened.
I guess this is all to say that we (many of us) are treating our kids as if they are something other than worthy of love (godless). I’ve heard people say things along the lines of wanting/letting their kids decide what is right or wrong or defining the entirety of their life path. That’s nonsense. If you smoke cigarettes and contract an illness (carcinogenic or otherwise), would you sit quietly as they (your children) smoke themselves to oblivion?
I believe this started as an effort to learn the etymology of the word profanity. I’m now looking at this as if there are far more matters that are profane in nature than language.
I still have profanity as part of my own thought processes and occasionally slip in speech (mostly driving). The point is that this is not the example that I want to set for my kids. Actually, there a many of my characteristics that I don’t want to set for my children or any other children. Regardless of how much responsibility we choose to accept, we do build the world that houses our offspring (future generations).
Dictionary.com, “Profane,” in Dictionary.com Unabridged. Source location: Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Profane. Available:http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: June 19, 2010.
ʻohana means family
