Nahid Bashatah
IT is said that “revenging an insult costs more than putting up with it.” However, before writing about the increasing use of profanity in society today, I would like to tell a story. A farmer went to a judge and complained that the ruler’s guards had taken away his cow. Knowing that he did not have any power to make the guards give back the cow, the judge started swearing and cursing the guards for their action. The farmer, who was sitting, stood up and walked toward the door to leave. “Where do you think you are going?” the judge asked. “If all you can do is curse and swear, I’d better go to the bullies in my neighborhood, because they can swear better than you.” The story tells us that swearing will not bring any benefit.
Unfortunately, the use of swear words by members of the public has increased. Swear words can be heard on streets and in homes, and are used frequently on social media websites. Shockingly, some media figures, actors and even scholars tend to use swear words, although those scholars, in particular, should have exercised more restraint before using such obscene language. After all, they are supposed to set an example as good Muslims who do not swear.
The same holds true for artists and people in the media. I am a writer and a member of the media, but I was flabbergasted, to say the least, when I saw some swear words on the Twitter accounts of some of my colleagues who call upon people to better themselves and to be straightforward and righteous citizens. I wondered why they did it and if they could not have exercised more self-control. Don’t they care about their image in society?
If you ask me, I think it all boils down to what one believes. That is, some public figures feel that they have the right to defend themselves by using such words or disrespecting others. This is not appropriate, and they should not do it in the first place because they contradict themselves and are confused about what constitutes right and proper values.
But out of every bad thing, something good usually comes. The good thing here is the fact that Twitter has shown us the real character of those people. Because of Twitter, such behavior and practices tell us what kind of people they really are.
