In 2013, Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” set a noteworthy record. This was not in box office receipts, for Oscars awarded, or for any meaningful artistic achievement. No, this movie made history by using a certain four-letter word once almost every 19 seconds. For three straight hours, audiences were bombarded by a near-constant barrage of profanity.

Yes, many of us have allowed our language to deteriorate occasionally, typically in times of extreme stress, shock or anger, and most of us stand ready to excuse each other for occasional or momentary lapses. Few of us are proud of that, but honestly, does anyone actually swear three times per minute? Does anyone feel the need to? Consider the etymology of most swear words, and you will find that most are fairly ugly. Many of these words, such as racial slurs and the famous f-bomb trace their origin to rape, slavery and torture.

I spent 10 minutes rewatching Scorsese’s film, and it’s loaded with some of the most unimaginative swearing ever. It’s a constant storm that quickly loses its shock factor. Perhaps Scorsese thinks he is “keeping it real,” but no one really swears that much. Having desensitized his audience, Scorsese attempts to remedy the situation with (surprise!) more of the same.

So, if life imitates art, where does this bring us? Frankly, swearing is mental laziness. People who swear aren’t using their minds, and it shows. The occasional study suggests that people who are smarter know more swear words, but that doesn’t mean swearing will make you smarter. There are many more creative ways to express your passion than swearing.

Recent studies have linked swearing to physical violence. For instance, the British Psychological Society linked increases in swearing to increases in violent behavior. While it’s unclear that swearing actually causes violent behavior, it seems reasonable that people engaged in violence have less respect for standards of human decency and might be more inclined to swear. It also seems reasonable that if we are left unfazed by constant profanity (maybe after watching four minutes of a Martin Scorsese flick), we might be similarly desensitized to other behavior that cheapens us, like gratuitous violence.

So, is there any turning back from cheap, mindless swearing? Can this ever get any better?

Maybe. While the effenheimer may now seem ubiquitous, it may surprise some to hear that racial slurs and jokes were once far more common than they are today. Very simply, over a period of decades, Americans started to realize that tolerating racial jokes and slurs amounted to tolerating the poor treatment of certain racial groups. So over more time, Americans stopped laughing at the jokes, and they became unacceptable.

And here’s a start: A growing number of cultural icons, including Clint Eastwood, Will Smith, Taylor Swift, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jay-Z, have decided that profanity adds nothing to their daily lexicon, so they do everything they can to avoid it. Certain football coaches, like Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo, believe that profanity shows nothing more than a lack of discipline and self-control during unavoidable moments of frustration, stress, and disappointment. Can Hollywood directors like Scorsese follow?

So while those moments of anger, stress, frustration, and disappointment are sure to come (for all of us), it might be a good idea for us to get more creative in how we react to them.