Grammar Nazi

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I found something to rant about. It probably doesn't help that I can be fairly easily annoyed.

My friends, the year is 2007, what's more, it is nearly halfway through 2007. Right now, over 69 percent of Americans have access to the Internet. This means well over 200 million of my fellow countrymen and women. This leads me to my current issue. Why do people with access to such a broad spectrum of information still misspell words, and plenty of them? While misspelling those words, why do those same people refuse to use proper grammar?

By now I'm sure I can sense a tinge of anger. Perhaps I will be referred to as perfectionist, or "Grammar Nazi" as the title reads. Allow me to assure that I am not alluding to casual conversation within the confines of the simple IM box, or for that matter, the cell phone text message. I shall elaborate.

Today I was visiting a forum that I frequent when I came across a new member's first post. He was obviously a bit perturbed about something. I suppose the subject is not important. What struck me was that not only did he not use a single capital letter to start a sentence, he casually left out such important sentence requirements as apostrophes, punctuation marks, etc. This had not been my first encounter with such wanton disregard for the basic rules of English. At the risk of sounding a bit like an elitist, I thoroughly enjoy the confidence of knowing that even if I am not intelligent, I can at least sound or be read as if I am.

One might ask after reading this: "Why are you so upset?" or "So what if people want to type something fast, not paying attention to their sentence structure, what's it to you?"

The reason this trend rubs me in the wrong direction is simple. I believe it's a direct reflection on one's priorities and desires. If there is one concept I am consistently pushing, it is preaching the gospel of personal responsibility and self improvement. Hence, I get a little disturbed as access to knowledge and information has become easier and people as a whole have become less likely to seize the opportunity to use it. Prior to having such wonderful, colorful, flickering boxes of oblivion to interact with, we would have to get up, grab the English book, or if we didn't have an English book, go and purchase one, when now all it takes is a simple few keystrokes.

I admit, I am being ultra sensitive on this subject. The quest for knowledge is a never ending one. Perhaps that fact is intimidating to some who wish not to even begin. Sure, there were the state sponsored lessons; I'll be the first to say even I felt no desire to expand on the concepts once finished. Then one day I woke up.

So, what is the relevance? To return to my original direction, it is 2007, the gap is widening between those who can perform and produce, and those who will not. One must not miss the chances. If all it takes is an extra effort in, if nothing else, building a correct sentence that reflects the true thought or purpose, is it not worth it?