Trump, COVID, Putin: Five-letter words are the new four-letter word. (Those objecting to Trump’s inclusion here are free to substitute the current president’s name instead—merely confirming the point.) Whether or not one formally subscribes to televangelist Pat Robertson’s interpretation that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is evidence that the Book of Revelation is unfolding before our very eyes, there is an undeniable End of Times feel to the daily newspapers—causing most of us to mutter inventive forms of profanity each time we check the headlines. Scatology recapitulates eschatology.
Russell Riley
