Resolution of a crazed editor?

[imbecamiel]

I am considering making a Resolution. No, not the New Year's kind that generally requires a lot of willpower, and is often forgotten within a couple of months. Nor the, “this is an area I really have to make a change in, so with God’s grace I’m working on it” kind (though there have been some of those lately – maybe more about that another time). No, this time it’s more like... finally surrendering to the inner voice of slightly-crazed obsession, urging me to act on my inner geek.

Okay, specifics? I'm thinking about carrying a pad of post-it notes in my purse, so that when I see one of those STUPID signs in grocery stores, gas stations, public restrooms, etc. etc. etc., with absolutely obvious and irritating  - or hilarious - mistakes, instead of silently fuming, or laughing hysterically, or banging my head on the wall, or despairing of the future of the English-speaking (and, sadly, writing) world, I can write a brief note mentioning the mistake(s), saying how it should have been written or punctuated, and stick it to the sign. *takes deep breath*

I mean, think about it. The majority of people don't seem to make a regular habit of picking up a good, well-written book and taking time to read, or carrying on lengthy and well-thought-out correspondences. What is the place most people seem to do their reading and writing these days? The internet. When it comes to rules and proper use of the English language, most of the internet is very, very casual, to say the least. And anyone can post anything they want, regardless of how badly-written it is. Hey, I think letting things become rather casual in a lot of interaction on the internet is all well and good - to some extent - but still, people (especially children and younger teens) are inundated daily with examples of writing that bear little, if any, resemblance to even the basics of correct usage.

So where is the other place people are most likely to encounter writing in their daily lives? Out and about in stores, signs, advertisements... We're surrounded with words. Now, you've got to hope that the majority of these are written by reasonably intelligent, educated people who want to get their message across clearly. Sadly, reading these signs you would often not get that impression at all.

I should say that I honestly am not trying to be insensitive to those who are truly illiterate or undereducated – I know that can be very difficult, and often embarrassing, to deal with. But the truth is the majority of Americans have had more than enough opportunity to learn at least the basics of punctuation and spelling, and if you're going to be writing – or worse, printing – a sign for display in a public place, one would assume you to be at least reasonably literate. And if you’re not sure of something, you can look it up, or ask someone else to check what you’ve written, or even have someone else write the sign.

I mean, the absolutely insane usage of apostrophes alone has often led me to wonder (sometimes aloud, much to the amusement of my family at how much this bugs me)... There’s a sign saying, “Hamburger’s $2”. But the hamburger’s what is two dollars? A hamburger’s meat is two dollars, but anything else’ll cost you extra? Is this gas station so up-scale that the hamburger’s smell alone is worth two bucks? Or, “Apartment’s For Rent”. The apartment’s what is for rent? Is only the living room available? The bedroom? The kitchen? This seems like important information to me!

I can live with the relaxation of rules in e-mails and such (though it’s far too often abused to an insane extent), but preventing the spread of this disease in signs seems to me to be reasonable. I mean, at the very least I may help keep some impressionable person who assumes that signs are reasonably trustworthy things from becoming further misinformed and confused about the proper use of the language. I fear for the future of the English language!

Ahem. Nooo, I don’t have a tendency to overreact. Why do you ask? *smiles and attempts to appear very, very sane* Honestly, I have no idea if I’ll actually do this… but I’m very tempted.

Hey, I think I’ve found my rant! *happy smile*