Let’s Cure This Epidemic

I had another topic on my mind this morning, but I’m going to go on a rant about carelessness instead. I’m sure that many of you read as many, if not more, articles and emails as I do. Have you noticed that we are in the midst of an epidemic of carelessness? I don’t mean with the “facts” many writers pass off as gospel. I’m talking about something far more basic: spelling and grammar.

I know English is a difficult language, even for those of us who are native speakers. Spelling, however, isn’t. Of course, one needs to take the time to check not just the spelling of a word but also if the correct homonym is being used. It’s not just individuals either. I see lots of corporate “content” that contains errors of the same sort. Social media, white papers, blogs and tweets are overrun with misused and misspelled words.  As a former broadcaster, I wince at every graphic that contains a typo.  You just know that more than one person looked at it (or should have) before the error ever saw the light of day.

I hope it’s carelessness and not ignorance. I’m pretty sure it is – what politician would spell “education” as “edutation” or “America” as “Amercia” out of anything other than carelessness? That carelessness makes me think you’re careless about everything, including how you will protect my data, my credit card information, and how you will service your customers.  I’m fed up with “it’s” being used as a possessive (it’s a contraction!).  I hate “your” preceding “welcome” (it should be a contraction – you’re!).

I admit to being an optimist, so I’m assuming we’re not all just idiots.  Most of us feel a time crunch and sometimes rush to meet a deadline.  It’s not a new sickness, as you can see from the clever 2013 Snickers ad, but it’s time we cured it.  Let’s be careful out there!