#841 Problem Spellers

There’s been a movement afoot lately to put less emphasis on spelling. The current advocates again maintain that exact spelling just ain’t that important. Added to their argument is the prevalence of the text message, which for reasons of space and economy has pared the English language down to bare necessities, like abbreviations and numbers to represent sounds.
Unfortunately, it also makes texters look self-centered, frivolous and superficial.
Us older folks don’t like getting a text message. Why? Because we have to pay for it. It’s like a letter coming postage due. Your first thought is who’s the cheap S.O.B. who sent me this?
And with the mangled language of text, the message itself loses validity and sincerity. Having a job applicant text in a “thx 4 the iview” is a far cry from a formal letter sent by snail mail. The snail mailer will have a better chance getting the job.
Something the immature never understand. You get respect when you earn respect.
So, as if I needed another reason to be concerned about left wing college students, I got this leaflet stuck on my car the other day. It’s hard to respect students who can’t spell. The broadsheet purported to give the early signs of fascism.
Their argument started out on the wrong side of persuasiveness when they spelled fascism with an extra i-s- in the middle, fasiscism.
They went on to list disdain for human rights as a symptom, except they spelled it d-i-s-t-a-i-n-. There is a distain with a “t” as opposed to disdain with a “d” but it doesn’t mean the same thing.
With a “t” it means to dishonor with a “d” it means feeling scorn for, or holding in contempt. I’d give them a “D”.
They then listed “fraudlent” elections, somehow managing to ignore the middle syllable-letter “u” and inadvertently making sense.
What is a fraudlent election? One that leaves out “u”.
I suppose these youngsters would see my insistence on proper spelling to be a fascist indication too.
Just as I suppose their inability to spell indicates their inability to buckle down and do something well.
QED
America, ya gotta love it.