As a young person (24 y/o) who constantly blares music throughout whatever space I'm in, I've had to confront the suspicion that the rap music I like is messing with my younger siblings' respect for the "no-cursing rule".

I do worry about it.

But then I wonder if the next generation (my generation, if you call a 24 y/o Gen Z ) isn't already too desensitized for it to matter.

I'm not sure how bad a society would look without a no-cursing rule if young people come to outgrow the stigma of "cussin.'"

I know by the time I was 11 or 12, I already had a regular and natural-feeling habit of 'fucks' and 'shits' in my vernacular. At least with friends and to myself. For better or worse, I guess.

When I was a sophomore in high school, an English teacher (the beloved and beautiful Mrs. Greene) would allow cursing in the classroom as we discussed whatever pieces we were reading. She understood that we used "bad language" to express ourselves and honestly engage in productive discourse.

I wonder if we might let the no-cursing rule fall away in the not-too-distant future. And I wonder if we could actually stop it at this point.

But I loved this read! Thank you!