Good Grammar Isn't Hot

This could be a college thing, but a premium has been put on good grammar and vocabulary in everyday use. This exists in only certain social circles, but is becoming a standard in which to evaluate someones intelligence.

The phenomenon that is fueling this could likely be our President, George W. Bush. His policies overseas are easy to disagree with, but his personality seems to inflame even more people. He notoriously stumbles over words, saying the most awkward sentences and then to top it all off, mispronounces the easiest words. There are enough websites about his grammatical inabilities that a book about his language skills doesn't need much research.

The significance of this is the elevation of every one's personal ego. People automatically feel smarter when they know their Commander in Chief cannot do the most basic things. No President inspires across the board agreeance with policies, but they all usually inspire respect of supposed intelligence. That's non-existent for Bush. In the last two years, I know of two mainstream news shows that had the topic, "Is Bush smart?" as a topic for debate. The shows were just reflecting the feelings of a lot of people.

Now the thing isn't to sound like Bush. Poverty in speech is automatically connected to our moronic President, but of course this attitude is moronic in itself. Of all the grievances to take against Bush, his lack of speech abilities should be the last. The ironic thing is that this ties him to our most respected Presidents. Thomas Jefferson, giving his first State of the Union, was so inaudible with his speech that only the first three rows could understand him. Abraham Lincoln, a famous speech writer, lacked all forms of grace and confidence when giving speeches. Lincoln's famous "Four Score and Seven Years Ago" speech wasn't a classic during Lincoln's time. It was actually considered such a blunder that it sent Lincoln into private depression. A small book printed in 1914 about the speech and what Lincoln did afterwards made it considered a classic work.

The effects of this concern for good grammar leads to just instances of arrogance. If someone in casual conversation misspeaks or says something wrong, they can be immediately corrected or mocked. If corrected, they are then told the proper term and reminded why it is good to speak correctly. This leads to basic confusion in the other person because a big deal has been made about a nothing subject. But it's not considered just a nothing subject. It's considered important because it's how you present yourself to others that matter. In interviews for jobs, yes. I say in basic conversation it's better to be kind than grammatically accurate.

I speak with basic ideas, but this has happened to me and I can't get away from it. I know one person who believes it's good to be grammatically correct and I kid her about my inabilities, but I don't consider her to be part of this group. She's a good friend so we are on excellent terms. I say this referring to the people you meet only for an instance. When people talk or meet many times they do measure each other up. For some men, they do so with basic show of physical strength. For others, it's showing intelligence.

You can quote your favorite poet or philosopher in casual conversation, but most people are bored with this. It usually doesn't come off very good because everyone smells it out as pretentious mixed with some pompous, but excellent speech goes under the surface. It shows personal confidence and intelligence in a subtle way. You can instantly attract someone by talking with a structured speech that most people wish they can show in written sentence.

Thus, good grammar can become another method in good arrogance. There are many ways to do this. A few months ago I met someone who was into film and he talked about a filmmaker I knew. I knew this filmmaker so well I immediately said an obscure fact and then said how many books about him I read. That was a dumb move and I immediately slapped myself for it. The rest of the conversation was me asking him sincere questions and complimenting him for a good attitude toward film. So I don't point my fingers at only others, but also at myself. The abuse of good grammar ethics extends to other abuses.