Where has the language all gone?

This has been a topic I’ve thought writing about for some time. Today’s culture is losing the sense of expressing itself in complete, accurate, thorough, written communication.

I am guilty of participating in most of today’s social media. I do too much Facebook time, according to my brother. I dabble a little with Twitter and play the Foursquare game. I have read there are many other sites out there, but I think I would go into technology overload.

What I have been noticing has been the overuse of communication shortcuts – the use of numbers or symbols as replacements for words or parts of words. Even more fascinating to me has been the lack of spelling accuracy and incorrect grammar, especially when many programs offer spell check/grammar check before sending a message.

Of course, there used to be the use of shorthand, the use of symbols to replace words as a method of recording conversations.

When I taught a class at IPFW, I gave the students one essay question on each test that gave them the opportunity to express their opinion and justify why. I did not grade according to their opinion, but, rather, their ability to express their opinion in complete sentences.

I guess the quality of the English language is slowly deteriorating. First goes the spoken language – the word “ask” no longer exists, it has instead become “axed.” Next, we lose the written language. Oh well, before long everybody will be speaking Chinese, so I guess it really doesn’t matter.

Green Hornet - crimefighter?

This is probably going to be one of my oddest posts for this blog.

I went to see the new movie “The Green Hornet.” Obviously, what drew me to this movie was the fact that I grew up watching the original 1960’s television series. I spent most of the movie comparing the movie to the TV version.

The TV series only lasted one season and can be associated with the “Batman” series as they were made to overlap – production resources and scripts. GH was made to be somewhat futuristic with a dependence on electronic gadgets. The most important aspect of the show was the level of crime-fighting intelligence and understanding of the criminal mind. He and his sidekick Kato worked well together.

What I saw in the movie was the “hero” Britt Reid as selfish, dimwitted, dependant, lush, inability to judge others’ character…and on and on. In other words, this hero really had very few redeeming values.

Finally, the hero tries to do what is right and even manages to succeed. One incident was even copied from the TV series.

What makes this movie so disappointing – along with some of the Superman and Batman movies – is that the heroes are made out to have significant personality flaws. The heroes of old could be depended to not only catch the criminal, but also make the right moral decisions.

Young people look at these movies and see no sense of right and wrong, only gray areas of poor choices. I believe that one reason young people today make bad choices is the lack of superheroes with bedrock right morals and cutting edge crime fighting capabilities.

Yeah, this movie was a waste of movie.

The liberal media

In Fort Wayne IN, we have a local newspaper that leans way to the left. The editorial page tries to think it is very objective in its comments page.

Recently, they took the opportunity to chastise Republican Indiana state Secretary of State Todd Rokita for some of his activities. They accused him of using his office for a possible future run at govenor (at least 2 years away). The newspaper seems to have forgotten a former secretary of state that had used the office as a trial run to his ascendency to governor. That person was Evan Bayh. What makes this all significant is that I sent a letter to editor addressing this issue. The paper states that they may edit letters for printing. I post below first my original letter and then the letter they published. You can decide for yourself how extensive they "re-wrote" my letter. I think more to protect their image than for space issues.

What I wrote:

From the editorial page on October 17th, we find this written by the J-G staff:
There’s a fine line between enjoying the high profile incumbency offers and exploiting the title for political gain. Rokita’s frequent Twitter updates….seem to cross that line.
The state constitution limits the secretary of state to two terms, which Rokita will have filled at the end of next year. Seeking higher office is certainly admirable, but Rokita should be aware that his obligations as an officeholder take precedence over his political future and that his activities raise questions about his dedication to his current post.
Apparently the author is too young to remember a former Indiana secretary of State held the office for only two years, as a stepping stone for his future run as governor. What did he accomplish during his partial term? Every source I looked regarding Evan Bayh’s biography made no mention of any accomplishment as S.of S. They all quickly skip his to his run as governor in 1988. It was no mystery at the time that Mr. Bayh was only laying the foundation for his goal as governor.
Perhaps this newspaper should review Mr. Rokita’s accomplishments in his current office and reserve judgment on any aspirations he may have on other elected offices until the appropriate time.

What they printed:

Regarding the editorial “Office-holder or candidate?”
(Oct. 17): The state constitution limits the secretary of state to two terms,
which Todd Rokita will have filled at the end of next year. Rokita should be
aware that his obligations as an officeholder take precedence over his political
future and that his activities raise questions about his dedication to his
current post.
A former Indiana secretary of state held the office for only
two years and used it as a stepping stone for his run as governor. Every source
I looked at regarding Evan Bayh’s biography make no mention of any
accomplishment as secretary of state. Biographies all quickly skip to Bayh’s run
for governor in 1988. It was no mystery at the time that Bayh was only laying
the foundation for his goal to be governor.
Perhaps The Journal Gazette
should review Rokita’s accomplishments in his current office and reserve
judgment on any aspirations he may have on other elected offices until the
appropriate time.