With an office on Park Boulevard, we have a front row seat to the actions of hundreds of young people who mill about, getting a slice of pizza or an ice cream along the business district in the rite of passage today we call hangin'out. Most are respectful and courteous and cause no problem for others. They are stretching their social muscles, learning how to get along and they find comfort and security in each other, just as generations before them have navigated through young adulthood in this way.

What strikes us as different today, however, and what has us concerned, is the liberal and accepted use of foul language among these young people. More significant, it is used by both the boys and the young girls without any regard for what the rest of society would deem as inappropriate.

What's to be done?

We're not willing to cast this problem off saying simply "kids will be kids," or that words don't matter. Language is the strongest form of communication we have, and one of the most significant ways in which other people form impressions about us. We believe young people today need to hear from parents, friends, relatives and educators that the trend of using foul language as part of everyday speech is simply not acceptable.

Why should that be done?

Most of this conduct is practiced out of habit. Many teens today simply get used to adding a curse or an indecent word as punctuation to their thoughts or ideas. It is, however, a poor excuse for intelligent conversation, and despite the fact that it is accepted among their peers, it reduces their image in the eyes of almost everyone else.

There was a time when this type of language were reserved for men in all-male situations and even the least offense would not be uttered in the presence of a girl or a woman. If it were, the offender was quickly chastised for the infraction.

We're not promoting a throwback to the age of Chivalry, but learning and practicing respect for each other is a key component to growing up and becoming a member of the adult community. Cursing and other foul language is not a way to fit in and succeed. It is unacceptable in almost every social situation, and if our young people today hope to be successful, they should be learning that now. That's what we should be communicating to them, loud and clear.