Americans just cannot spell. In elementary school we would take spelling tests. We all worked to make a perfect score. I remember writing words during the week and then practicing them on Thursday night before bed, getting ready for the big test on Friday. Life was good if we got all of the words correct, and even better if we got a bonus word or two for extra credit.
Somewhere between then and now I have observed that people simply cannot spell very well. I know some people have trouble spelling from birth. My father will tell anyone he has never been able to spell, yet he still tries. That is not an issue. Many folks today simply do not care. I can understand that a little because we can use spell check and get by. All that is to say, I think the real issue is bigger.
We have an issue with laziness in today's society. This can be seen in spelling and grammar. Many adults do not know the difference between to, too and two. Go on any website that allows comments and read the number of times "your" is used when "you're" should be used. My son had a teacher a few years ago that sent home a note that was grammatically incorrect. She ended a sentence with a preposition. How many times a day do we hear people say things like, "Where is it at?" My mom used to tell me when I said that it was like hearing fingernails on a chalk board. At this point in my life I agree with her. We even had a presidential campaign slogan that was grammatically incorrect. We all can remember "Change we can believe in." Regardless of your feelings about the candidate what is now the President, they should have been ashamed to use such poor grammar as a slogan.
If you really want to see laziness, go to a local Wal-Mart parking lot and watch for a while. You will see vehicles going the wrong way down aisles, people parking in fire lanes and customers leaving shopping carts all over the parking lot. You can also see people parking illegally in handicapped places. That particular thing really fires me up! Just because you have the placard from the car of someone else does not make it OK to park in those places.
Laziness seeps in from texting. When you are too lazy to spell out a word completely that is a problem. From there we see people throw their trash out of windows (especially cigarettes!), drivers failing to use turn signals and we can go on and on. It is no wonder so many Americans are not simply a little overweight, they crossed into obesity. I know that is a major leap, yet can we really prove it is not all related?
This laziness really arises from the fact that we simply have things too easy. We can coast through school, coast through college, coast through work and retire to our stipend from the government. Of course this can make us lazy. We know that someone, somewhere will be there to take care of us. We can rest in the fact that if we make a bad decision, there is someone out there to bail us out. Why work hard? The government will pay my bills. Why buy flood insurance even when I live in a flood or hurricane zone? Some agency will come in and take care of my troubles. Why study hard in school when everyone gets the same grades?
Of course there are exceptions in all of this. From what I can see those that work hard, make wise choices and do well are becoming targets. If you excel in the work place and do well, you are targeted by others to get knocked down. If you start your own business and make a nice living you are told you make too much money. If you do well in school and have a chance to graduate with honors, schools will not recognize your achievement because it may make someone else feel bad. Give me a break.
It seems that in our society today, we vilify those who work hard and do well. These folks are called "privileged" or "lucky" or "more fortunate." We must refer to other folks as "less fortunate." Well if you don't go to school, and if you refuse to work, you are not "less fortunate." In this country, except for a very small percentage, anyone can go to college and make something out of life. Your family background is no excuse. At some point you need to look at yourself in the mirror and decide what kind of person you will be. If you choose not to take advantage of opportunities to better yourself, you are not "less fortunate." You are most likely simply lazy.
This is certainly not nice, yet I believe it is true. Not everything that is beneficial is going to be nice. I would write about that, but that is a whole other topic, and plus I am feeling kind of lazy...
