What We Hold Sacred

This article from The Economist on swear words caught my fancy.  At first it seems to be merely a catalog of acceptable and unacceptable words that change through history and culture.  The writer focuses on religiously charged words and then sexually charged words that have historically been taboo swear words. 

The connecting theme is that a culture considers words taboo which make base the sacred.  So when religion and sexuality are held in high regard, associated words become forbidden.  Today these words are becoming more acceptable­—showing our culture’s changing standards.

So what is the sacred of today?  In only a few brief paragraphs, the writer offers today’s taboo: words that have to do with someone’s race, sexual orientation, or mental abilities.  The new sacred, he contends, is the individual; and he approves of this development. 

The idea that the individual is the new sacred certainly seems descriptive of our society, although I cannot be excited for this change.  While respect for individual is important, replacement of God by His creation is nothing to celebrate.