The meaning of swear words

"Profanity is prohibited."
I've heard this phrase many times in my life, and I always followed by it, while in context. Because swear words, more often than not, are rude and inappropriate.

I don't like to swear much, because I have realized that the overuse of swear words has dulled the intensity of those words. When I see someone who uses the f-bomb in every single sentence, I become skeptical. What do I mean by that? It means that I don't take them seriously when they swear, even if it's in a mildly appropriate circumstance. If I do happen to swear, I want it to pack the punch that swear words should carry.

But in one of my mind-wandering, debate-the-philosophy-of-things days, I began to think about the whole purpose of swear words. Are they really "bad words?" Or are they solely an outlet for anger during a stressful moment? Well, I began leaning toward the latter. Swear words are a mild form of relieving stress, and are often used when someone is angry. I tend to swear more when I play during the softball season, because it's an outlet of frustration when I make a mistake, like dropping the ball. In that situation, I swear under my breath, usually before I even think about it.

But are swear words "bad words?" Well, they are obviously frowned upon, especially when used in the wrong context(recently, I was totally shocked to hear a boy, who looked no older than fifth grade, call a girl a b*tch). But when you look at the explicit meaning, what do they mean? Well, it seems to be common knowledge that bitch is another word for a female dog. However, when it is used as a swear word, I'm pretty sure the user doesn't mean, "You are a dog that is capable of having babies."

And what about the f-bomb and s-bomb? Do they have actual meanings? Well, I know they do, but they are almost always used out of context when "launched."

In my frame of mind, swear words and bad words shouldn't be the same thing. For both, you should hesitate before using them. It is encouraged in society to avoid swear words as a whole. Bad words, however, shouldn't be something that should be avoided. Bad words should be treated extremely carefully, so they are used in proper context. They shouldn't be near-meaningless, like swear words, but rather carry a heavy meaning.

Sh*t shouldn't be a bad word. Murder, rape, and hate should be bad words. War should be the most hurtful bad word that exists.
But they aren't. Instead, it's more frowned upon when people misuse words like the f-bomb. Instead, people- young and old- throw around the word, "kill" like it means nothing. Instead, only soldiers who have been through war will be haunted by what it really is, and shudder at the sound of the word.