May 13, 2016 - "I'm A Grammar Nazi"

Chaplain’s Corner

May 13, 2016

I'm A Grammar Nazi

Good Morning Patriots!

Well, today is Friday the 13th, and I am sure we will see a lot of Facebook memes making a big deal about the unlucky day. I was looking at Facebook this morning, and reading some of the linked articles in the news, and I became, once again, painfully aware of our dumbing down of America. Let me explain.

A lot of my friends like to call me a "Grammar Nazi" in jest. I don't mind the good-natured ribbing, and play along regularly. However, sometimes I just have to stop and wonder about what kind of educational standards we as a nation are embracing now. For example, have you ever read any of the published letters of many of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War? Many of them are on display in museums, and many are searchable online. It gives us a snapshot into another time, when people were more "primitive" by today's standards. No electricity. No flush toilets. The Industrial Revolution was just beginning to take hold. People had to work long hours every day just to be able to eat. Many children were not able to finish their formal education, and it was not unusual to hear someone say, "I only have a third grade education," in shame, as if they considered themselves to be "substandard" to others.

However, when you read those personal letters of those "uneducated" men as they were writing home to their families, as they were waging a war, missing their families, and perhaps wondering why they were there, you see a very common thread in all of those letters. First, most of them had very nice handwriting, and their words were relatively easy to read. Second, the way they expressed themselves was so eloquent, full of descriptive words and expressions, and evoked a very real emotional response in the reading of those words. Many times, it feels as though you are reading 19th Century poetry. The letters were well thought out, well written, and most likely they even re-read the letters a couple times to check for errors before sending them home. I am always amazed at the high quality of education that these people received by the third grade.

Fast forward, to our day. By all outward appearances, we are advanced beyond measure in so many ways. It would seem, to the casual observer, we are light years ahead of those who lived 130 years ago. And, in many ways, I would agree. But, at what cost? Where do we measure on formal education? What is considered the "standard" today? What do you see when you read things that people have written? What I see appalls me. Even when you go to the internet and read the online news agencies' articles, most of them are grammatically substandard, and are usually full of spelling errors. This saddens me, as I see even "professionals" that cannot structure a sentence, cannot spell, and do not bother to proof-read articles that will be read by the masses.

I would think that would be embarrassing for them, but I find that when it is brought to their attention, they pass it off as of no consequence. There seems to be no shame anymore for being grossly uneducated, and it even appears to be the new "normal" in society. Facebook posts are sometimes impossible to decipher. Every other word is an expletive. Spelling is a joke. So few people care anymore about what people see and think when they read their writings. What happened to proof-reading before posting? What happened to Grammar? What happened to self-respect?

Now, as I write this, I know I will comb over this article and triple check it for errors, knowing that I will have egg on my face when someone catches a mistake. I know we all get in a hurry and make mistakes, and that is not the point I am making. The point I am making is that our world now seems to be full of people who just don't care enough to do their best. They don't care what kind of impression they make on others. They have no real self-respect. And because they have no self-respect, they also have no respect for others. With that lack of respect for others comes a lack of respect for authority, law, structure, and even a degradation of the moral compass. It is a domino effect in society, where the masses seem to gravitate to the lowest common denominator. That is very sad to see.

So, call me a Grammar Nazi if you will. But for me, it is so much more than just trying to cross my "T's" and dot my "I's" and watch my Grammar. For me, it is about trying to give everything I do my very best effort. I have been called "Anal Retentive" and I probably have to own that. I just don't see any good reason to be slovenly or lazy. I have self-respect, and pride myself on what I am able to do, while at the same time respecting and appreciating others who try to do the same. It's not about trying to be "better than everyone"... it is about trying to be the very best I can be. I still fall short of my own expectations of self, daily, and that is where my relationship with God helps me through. I am changing and growing daily, and working on being closer to Him, and being more like Him in every way. In so doing, how can I offer anyone anything less than my best? Like the old saying goes "If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well."

God Bless You, every one, and:
God Bless America!
Stephen King
Chaplain@3upi.com