Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Rantings
Well, big changes have been happening of late. On Saturday, my roommate moved out, thus ending a relationship that was emotionally and financially draining. I will not go into the details, because that would not be polite, nor would it serve any particular purpose, but I can say that I am very much enjoying having the apartment to myself. You know, for someone who loves people, I sure do like being by myself. I guess, in a way, it's good that I can rely on myself for company. I didn't used to be able to do that. Growing up as a twin, you get rather used to having someone with you all the time. The thing is, you never really stop having that, no matter how far apart you are. I know that any time I really need him, I can count on my brother to be there for me, no questions asked. We have shared a lifetime of shared memories, family, and friends. I find it convenient that the person I love best in this world is the one who shares my birthday. Or perhaps that is why I love him best. Either way, I am considerably lucky to have him.
Okay, really, I have no set topic for this entry. I am fairly certain that it is going to end up being a diatribe on whatever subject happens to come out. So, I apologize ahead of time for a lack of coherency and flow. Well, maybe I do have a few things I want to talk about. First of all, I read an article in the SUN (the Shenandoah campus paper) about the deterioration of the English language. This article, which has since been cut out and taped to my wall, raised an issue that has long been close to my heart. Why is it that Americans feel the need to discard grammar, spelling, and literacy so quickly? I remember learning to spell and structure sentences in elementary school. I knew the difference between adjectives, adverbs and nouns long before I could write in cursive. I knew most of the grammar songs from School House Rock. Yet, in my eleventh grade English class, only one other person (out of a combined class) knew what an adjective was. Additionally, I am fairly certain that the two of us are the only ones who understood noun functions. I have never thought this to be a hard subject to grasp, nor do I think so now. I think the demise of the language is merely a result of laziness. No one bothers to proofread any more. I, myself, tend to forego proofreading my emails and my blog entries. Papers are a different matter, of course, but I have read plenty of academic papers where the writer clearly didn't stop to review the paper before handing it in. This saddens me. One of my biggest pet peeve is the misuse of the words their, there, they're, your, you're, its, and it's. I know that I cannot correct this problem, nor can I expect anyone else to care about it as I do. The best I can do is proofread my own work and one day stress to my children the importance of the English language. I, for one, hope that the desire to sound educated, intelligent and informed will one day win out over laziness.
I realize that the above was a lengthy rant, but I am going to end this blog with another. I realize that there are several of you who like George W. Bush. And some of you think he is a great president. If you feel this way, you should be warned that you won't like what follows. I personally think he is one of the worst presidents of the last fifty years; rivaling Hoover and Nixon. (If you also like Hoover and Nixon, we really need to talk.) For the first four years W. was in office, I refused to refer to him as President. Partly because he didn't actually win the vote, and therefore couldn't actually be termed the President, and partly because I felt that by denying him that title I was doing something to make my disdain for him apparent. I find it appalling that the majority of people who voted for him for a second term care more about preventing gay marriage than they do about health care, education, homelessness, hunger, security, the country's finances and social security. This is not true of everyone, but it is true of a large portion of Bush voters. We are in the worst war our generation has seen, with the violence overseas escalading daily. Bush has no viable plan for the reconstruction of the country he destroyed, nor the means to end the conflict and bring our troops home. This angers me on so many levels. He cuts taxes, but he does little to help the people who are starving and living off of nothing. What about the migrant workers, and the immigrants who can't get better jobs because they don't have time to learn English or how to read? What about the men who stand outside on the streets hoping that someone will pick them up for a day's work, even though it's illegal to do so? What about the American Indians who live on poverty stricken reservations and watch while their fellow countrymen destroy the natural landmarks and holy places that mean so much to them? What about the countless children who still can't read, or write, or do simple math equations? He calls himself the moral president, yet he ignores the climbing divorce rate and the high number of teen pregnancies. He talks about being a Christian, but he judges and persecutes, not understanding what Jesus taught. And, on a day when he should have been providing support to the people he promised to serve, he threw lavish parties and balls and crippled the District for several days. This is unacceptable to me. I cannot see how anyone can call his actions justified or sound. I can only pray that the country isn't completely ruined by the time his term is up. And I sincerely hope that all future candidates, Democratic and Republican, are learning from his mistakes and making plans to help our country along to a better, more stable future.
Okay, my rantings are over for now. Good night to you all, and I promise that my next post will be less bitter.
Okay, really, I have no set topic for this entry. I am fairly certain that it is going to end up being a diatribe on whatever subject happens to come out. So, I apologize ahead of time for a lack of coherency and flow. Well, maybe I do have a few things I want to talk about. First of all, I read an article in the SUN (the Shenandoah campus paper) about the deterioration of the English language. This article, which has since been cut out and taped to my wall, raised an issue that has long been close to my heart. Why is it that Americans feel the need to discard grammar, spelling, and literacy so quickly? I remember learning to spell and structure sentences in elementary school. I knew the difference between adjectives, adverbs and nouns long before I could write in cursive. I knew most of the grammar songs from School House Rock. Yet, in my eleventh grade English class, only one other person (out of a combined class) knew what an adjective was. Additionally, I am fairly certain that the two of us are the only ones who understood noun functions. I have never thought this to be a hard subject to grasp, nor do I think so now. I think the demise of the language is merely a result of laziness. No one bothers to proofread any more. I, myself, tend to forego proofreading my emails and my blog entries. Papers are a different matter, of course, but I have read plenty of academic papers where the writer clearly didn't stop to review the paper before handing it in. This saddens me. One of my biggest pet peeve is the misuse of the words their, there, they're, your, you're, its, and it's. I know that I cannot correct this problem, nor can I expect anyone else to care about it as I do. The best I can do is proofread my own work and one day stress to my children the importance of the English language. I, for one, hope that the desire to sound educated, intelligent and informed will one day win out over laziness.
I realize that the above was a lengthy rant, but I am going to end this blog with another. I realize that there are several of you who like George W. Bush. And some of you think he is a great president. If you feel this way, you should be warned that you won't like what follows. I personally think he is one of the worst presidents of the last fifty years; rivaling Hoover and Nixon. (If you also like Hoover and Nixon, we really need to talk.) For the first four years W. was in office, I refused to refer to him as President. Partly because he didn't actually win the vote, and therefore couldn't actually be termed the President, and partly because I felt that by denying him that title I was doing something to make my disdain for him apparent. I find it appalling that the majority of people who voted for him for a second term care more about preventing gay marriage than they do about health care, education, homelessness, hunger, security, the country's finances and social security. This is not true of everyone, but it is true of a large portion of Bush voters. We are in the worst war our generation has seen, with the violence overseas escalading daily. Bush has no viable plan for the reconstruction of the country he destroyed, nor the means to end the conflict and bring our troops home. This angers me on so many levels. He cuts taxes, but he does little to help the people who are starving and living off of nothing. What about the migrant workers, and the immigrants who can't get better jobs because they don't have time to learn English or how to read? What about the men who stand outside on the streets hoping that someone will pick them up for a day's work, even though it's illegal to do so? What about the American Indians who live on poverty stricken reservations and watch while their fellow countrymen destroy the natural landmarks and holy places that mean so much to them? What about the countless children who still can't read, or write, or do simple math equations? He calls himself the moral president, yet he ignores the climbing divorce rate and the high number of teen pregnancies. He talks about being a Christian, but he judges and persecutes, not understanding what Jesus taught. And, on a day when he should have been providing support to the people he promised to serve, he threw lavish parties and balls and crippled the District for several days. This is unacceptable to me. I cannot see how anyone can call his actions justified or sound. I can only pray that the country isn't completely ruined by the time his term is up. And I sincerely hope that all future candidates, Democratic and Republican, are learning from his mistakes and making plans to help our country along to a better, more stable future.
Okay, my rantings are over for now. Good night to you all, and I promise that my next post will be less bitter.
