[nopardons]

Barbra Striesand !

In the past, people used to strive to improve themselves and that included how they wrote and spoke. Formal education had little to do with it. Even new immigrants went to the movies, to learn what to emulate, to belong.Now, movies and T.V. script writers use base language, bring everything down into the gutter, and you have middle and upper middle and even upper class kids emulating the lowest of the low, in speech, dress, manners (?), and morals.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Good authors too who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose.
Anything goes.

Cole Porter - 1934 Broadway musical, Anything Goes! (Act 1 Scene 6)

[SouthernClaire]

Thanks. But, it's "Babs" (?) to you, if you don't mind! :-)

You missed my point.

Or either you made my point. I'm not sure.

Taking your view, I agree: We should emulate best behaviour. However, when that's not to be found, what then?

My point is that we should not take people as idiots or believe they don't want to learn simply because they're in no position to learn.