Let's Raise the Bar, America

I am not a prude.

After all, I spent 35 years ministering to murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and every kind of criminal imaginable in more than 400 different correctional institutions throughout North America and Africa.

David Berkowitz, the notorious Son of Sam? Met and conversed with him several times. Sing Sing, the oldest continuously occupied prison in America? Been there numerous times. Naivasha Main Prison, one of only two maximum-security institutions on the African continent? Shared the gospel there in a massive courtyard where 800 inmates stood shoulder to shoulder to listen… with only two unarmed correctional officers to protect us.

I also ran – as a fiscal and social conservative – for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District, one of the safest Democratic districts in the entire country, where a Republican hasn’t been elected since 1972.

Between my prison ministry career and my political campaigns, I have heard about every expletive known to man. Some of them were lobbed in my direction and others were simply used in casual conversation by those around me.

I guess you should expect such harsh language inside a prison, but from my perspective, profanity has no place in public, whether it be in the political arena or in supposedly polite company. And yet, it has become so commonplace as to be accepted and expected… and that is wrong.

Read the words of our Founding Fathers, many of whom taught themselves to read and write multiple languages. The richness of their vocabulary would put most 21st century Americans to shame. Not only that, but those learned men were also men of honor, integrity, dignity, and decorum. I can’t imagine for a minute George Washington using profanity while he presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787 or John Hancock demanding that expletives be included in the Declaration of Independence before signing it.

And yet, fast forward to 2024 and the sitting President of the United States frequently sprinkles curse words into his official remarks, whether they be on the campaign trail or the White House lawn. Not to be outdone, both candidates to replace President Biden think nothing of using “colorful” language. For instance, former President Trump routinely resorts to using profanity in his stream-of-consciousness stump speeches (when he’s not busy referring to Arnold Palmer’s private parts). As for Vice President Kamala Harris, when she first heard about President Biden’s decision to withdrawal from the race, she tried calling her husband to let him know. When Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff didn’t respond right away (he was in a yoga class), Harris followed up with a text that read, “Where the F*** are you?”

So lady like, right? And so presidential, NOT!

Not to be outdone, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe spewed expletives from the stage at Madison Square Garden during a recent Trump rally, making sure he offended every possible demographic. Didn’t it occur to him that not only weren’t his jokes funny, but they were also deeply offensive to the black and Puerto Rican communities as well as to any women and children in the audience?

The same goes for the Al Smith Dinner in New York City that was held a few weeks earlier. The annual fundraiser, now in its 79th year, honors Smith, a four-term governor and the first Roman Catholic to head a major party’s presidential ticket (he was the Democratic nominee in 1928). Hosted by His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and emceed by comedian Jim Gaffigan, the dinner raised $8.9 million for parochial schools in New York City.

However, despite Cardinal Dolan sitting just two seats to his left, Gaffigan told one off-color joke after another, referring to both men’s and women’s genitalia along the way.

Folks, whatever happened to proper manners? And whatever happened to refraining from using blue humor and public profanity, especially when women, children, and clergy are present?

Call me old school, out-of-touch, and a societal dinosaur of sorts, but I don’t care. I long for the days when adjectives were used that didn’t begin with the letter F… and clergy were treated with reverence and women were treated with class.

America, we are better than this. Let’s raise the bar and make George Washington proud of us once more.