Posted on 02/06/2016 4:36:00 PM PST by John Leland 1789
I’m with you. I still type correct spelling and grammar on texts. The only times errors show up is if I’m “speaking to text”. Most folks know if I did that because of the (sometimes funny) translation errors.
I don’t know about NJ, but I know in both MA and RI, schools aren’t teaching cursive writing anymore. WTF? How are you supposed to sign your name, for example.
Insane. The dumbing down continues...
In Anglo districts here in NJ they still teach cursive, but kids rarely use it because so many assignments are typed (and submitted electronically). As far as the urban schools, I honestly don’t believe they teach writing at all beyond third grade.
I guess you just “make your mark” instead of sign a real name; I guess those students can’t read the Declaration of Independence.
Two results of this dumbing down that I’ve observed are 1)the replacement of many blacks in the white collar/clerical workforce by Hispanics (it is commonly acknowledged that Hispanics are displacing blacks, but never analyzed as to why), and 2) the presence in any department, regardless of how low-skilled the work may be, of an Anglo “scribe” - often the only person who can write/type a coherent email or letter.
Even if it’s not used much, or at all, at least the kids there are exposed to cursive. Here it’s just eliminated. I was shocked when I gave a BDay card to one of my friend’s daughters (she was 9 at the time) and she asked me to read what I wrote (”Happy Birthday Abby”) because she couldn’t. I asked both parents about this and they confirmed that cursive wasn’t taught in their school district anymore. Sad.
The urban areas? You could probably have some real (tragic) comedy coming out of them. You could have “Man or Elephant” comparisons, like they do with paintings.
“They” don’t want people to be able to read the Declaration of Independence. C’mon, now! It was written by old, racist, white men...
Hispanics replacing blacks: They don’t typically have a “built in” attitude.
Anglo scribe: Yep. Someone, somewhere in an organization needs to literate.
If I read this correctly, you are saying that I should not be able to vote because I am too old to be drafted. Never mind that I pay taxes, I am a veteran, or anything else - only those who can be conscripted can vote?
I hope you either forgot the sarcasm tag or you wrote something that didn't say what you meant.
That’s a shame with the 9 year-old; I hope she picks it up at some point.
The “Anglo scribe” position is increasing in visibility in my area because there is literally an evacuation of Americans; many “Anglos” you meet have an accent (usually Eastern European) - which is fine (my wife is a foreigner), but most won’t be proofreading anything. At this point the spelling errors on our news programs are increasing in frequency.
I hope she does and her brother does too. Sad.
I haven’t seen the areas of evacuation in MA like you describe (it probably exists in cities like Lawrence and Lowell, but I have zero reason to go to either place), but I can see what you mean. It’s just tragic what’s happened/happening to this country.
I partly meant it, at least the sentiment of the statement, and I would lose the vote by that standard as well. But the desired solution is to do away with the draft. Paying taxes and voluntary military service are commendable, but they are nothing in comparison to being made an unwilling combatant; I can’t escape the feeling that only those subject to the greatest risk should hold the greatest privilege. There’s something disturbing about the idea of us old guys (and all females) sitting in relative safety and saying,”sorry junior, but we’ve decided that you’re going to play soldier now. Sure hope you survive intact” The very existence of a draft says something about national morale and cohesiveness. If America cannot engender the loyalty necessary to maintain volunteer forces sufficient for defense, then she deserves defeat.
Selective service is not the draft. It is used as a way to preserve the draft in case of national emergency.
The American Revolution was pursued in large part due to “taxation without representation. To disallow taxpayers (those that pay more in than they take out) from voting would be the same situation. Similarly, to disallow those who have long been subject to the government in their work life to vote because they have aged past fighting is the same.
Aging out of voting also robs the nation of needed perspective.
I cannot agree with your idea here. I could easily see taking away voting from non taxpayers, but the military and age guidelines are anathema to a free citizenry.
Selective service is not the draft in the same way that registration of firearms is not the same as confiscation of firearms. I am not suggesting making the change by fiat, but by vote as a matter of conscience. You would vote to give up the franchise to those whose lives might be thrown away by act of the State. It’s kind of akin to the segregation era. Everybody had the vote, so what was the problem? Well, it was a big problem if you happened to be black. Look—I’m arguing an absurdity to point out what I see as a basic injustice. It’s an equal protection issue. If men must register, women must register, but really nobody should register. Age was just kind of a toss in when I should have simply limited it to barring women from the vote, since essentially all living men have been subject to registration. As for older folks having valuable perspective, that is often true, but there is no shortage of old fools.
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