A Nation Of Potty Mouths

(CBS)  It all started with "Gone with the Wind" and Rhett's not-so-fond adieu: "Frankly ,my dear, I don't give a damn."

His vulgarity was shocking at the time, but damn, that was nothing compared to what passes for entertainment today, where a movie is named "Meet the Fockers" and every Sunday night we invite "Desperate Housewives" into our homes, comments CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman.

Heck, even our born-again president swears, or did at least once that we know of.

We really are a nation of potty mouths.

Penn Jillette, of the comedy team Penn and Teller, recently produced what may be the most foul-mouthed movie ever – "The Aristocrats" — released last summer.

The film shows different comedians telling the same basic joke, each version nastier than the last.

"We now live in the freest time, in the freest country that has ever existed," Jillette claims.

Jillette says America may have a conservative façade, but he swears we love swearing.

To find out how America really does feel about swearing and what effect it has on the country Hartman went to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, to meet Timothy Jay, a psychology professor.

He is the swearing authority.

"I've dedicated my whole career to this - once I got tenure, though," Jay quips.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »