Watch Your Language!

Stand-up comedy legend George Carlin was once the subject of a Supreme Court case over a monologue of his, entitled, "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television."  It is the only time that a comedian's act was ever the centerpiece for a legal debate. (Carlin himself was not directly involved; the battle was between the Federal Communications Commission, which moderates the major entities of broadcasting such as radio and television, and the New York radio station WBAI, who played the routine completely uncensored.)

The reason Carlin's monologue was under such scrutiny was because of the language used in the routine.  The Court ruled in favor of the FCC, and Carlin, who has since become infamous for his vulgarity, now often jokes that he is proud of this moment in his career, because the attourneys who argued the case had to read the controversial routine word for word.  It was mostly due to this case that the FCC hs the power it holds today in regulating the standards of broadcast media, notably in the realm of "indecent" or "obscene" language.

But what exactly is indecent language, and who are they to try to define it?  The FCC cannot tell us what is or isn't considered indecent, because it is completely subjective.  What one person may consider indecent, another person couldn't care less.  There cannot be a set standard.

In fact, there is so much grey area in this issue, that the inclusion of these colorful words in our vernacular is almost necessary.  The amount of power they hold may reserve them for only occasional use, but the reason for that shouldn't be because they are "bad words."

It should be because they are that f***ing awesome.