The unpredictable billionaire businessman and latter-day Republican beat a career politician for the US top job. This was, for all, a surprise; and, for many, a shock.

The surprise was that a seasoned campaigner such as Hillary Rodham Clinton would be bested in this way.

The shock was that a man who had openly professed contempt for many of his fellow Americans based on their religious, cultural or gender affiliation had become president-elect, the so-called leader of the free world.

The vulgarities and intolerance Trump had expressed towards women, Hispanics and Muslims – to name but a few – was not the temperate language to be reasonably expected from a presidential candidate, nor statesman.

And yet nearly 60 million voting Americans appeared to have no objection to such brazen objectification; or at least not sufficient to change their ballot box decision.

Other world leaders have cautiously congratulated Trump’s appointment, perhaps taking the age-old counsel that if you can't say anything nice, say nothing.

But four years will be a long time to keep schtum.

In Australia, public language is also at the heart of the Federal Parliament’s continuing argument over repealing section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

As it is, the law makes it an offence to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" on the basis of race. Given how we Australians consider ourselves to be egalitarian above most other national characteristics, it is a pity that a defence against racism has to be enshrined in law.

Still, how such things are communicated is not an easy task, with even the Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs and Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane not able to agree on the wording of 18C.

And the issues that underlie the language that leads to vilification – poverty, mass migration, xenophobia – are too multi-layered and nuanced to be corrected in an Act.

Without having to agree on the solutions to these problems, could we at least agree to be a civil society? Could we at least not espouse vulgarity and intolerance in retaliation for frustrations over global challenges.