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By Mark Edmundson
Mr. Edmundson’s most recent book is “The Age of Guilt: The Super-Ego in the Online World.”
Is there anyone out there now who doesn’t swear? Is there anyone who doesn’t revel in vulgar language?
You hear it everywhere and from almost everyone. When I was growing up in the 1950s and ’60s, swearing was the undisputed territory of guys. Guys who worked with their hands — construction men, plumbers and carpenters — cursed copiously on the job. Sailors cursed all the time, or so we were told. Sometimes a neighborhood dad would let loose a stream of bad words from the backyard when he was three beers in, but not often.
