I am writing in connection with Sylvan Lake’s planned offensive against gutter language in public places.
It is a sad day, indeed, that the community’s city fathers have found themselves in such a position.
The fact of the matter is that many people today seem to not understand that the use of foul, profane, uncouth/vulgar language and loutish behaviour in public places is something that many people find extremely offensive.
The town councillors of Sylvan Lake are obviously painfully aware of this fact, and the adverse affect it can have on their community. I find no problem with this thinking.
One letter writer to the Red Deer Advocate obviously belongs to the group of people, mostly young, who see nothing wrong with the use of this kind of language in public. So much so that he thinks it is infringing upon his freedom of expression.
Well, excuse me, who does he think he is that he should be free to go around using profane and vulgar language to satisfy his own primitive urges?
This has nothing to do with freedom of speech so much as it is an issue about civilized behaviour.
It’s a pity that so many young people today seemed to have missed out on a very valuable lesson that children used to learn at the knees of their parents.
It appears this does not happen very much any more.
The problem of excessive use of profane language in public is not exclusive to Sylvan Lake. It is everywhere. In fact, it has become so prevalent that the people involved scarcely know they are offending those around them.
When the day comes that this kind of language is in common usage by such institutions as CBC, CNN, BBC, NBC, CBS and all the mainline media, I will concede defeat in this matter. Until that time arrives, places such as Sylvan Lake have my support and I applaud them.
I believe there are a lot of people who support this endeavour.
Perhaps other communities could take a leaf out of Sylvan Lake’s book. Or would that be expecting too much!
Anthony Kettle,
Red Deer