Poetry: In a Crowd

This was written today

In a Crowd

Murmur of voices
The indistinct babble
Of a brook.
And here I am
A part of it
Floating in the water
My hair thrashes and
Moves with with the current.
The lovely tree
Dips its branches
To the edge
We shake hands softly
And the leaves pull back
And tremble.
I cannot help
But ponder
After we have brushed fingers
The connection of my life
With all others
and the life we all breathe
Together.

-Emily Chumchal Andrews

Look! Another Blog About Chick-Fil-A?

So, this post is not exactly about Chick-Fil-A, but after reading numerous posts about them the past couple of weeks I finally had enough. Enough of what? A subject I feel very passionate about and that is the killing, perhaps "torture" is a better word, of the English language! What this post is really about is the importance of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and editing.

As I have read comments in the sections of numerous articles both bashing or applauding Chick-Fil-A I have seen many people call them "racists." It is very hard to read the rest of their argument because I cannot get over the fact that they have called someone a racists whom they mean to call a "bigot."

 I have seen arguments about any number of controversial topics raging on blog posts, Facebook, news articles, and even Youtube and I skip over comments that don't have any capitalization. I stop reading comments after too much misspelling because I can't believe that all of the words were typos. When commenters don't have the sense to edit either hateful speech and bitter words that are directed at a person and not about the subject, why would I believe they have anything intelligent to say? Perhaps they do, but I cannot force myself to plow through the muddle of language to get at what they are trying to say. I don't have a problem with views different than my own, I will gladly read arguments against my views. In fact, I appreciate and applaud well thought out and well rendered debate. I have a feeling that this is true with many other people. Thankfully, just as Dan Cathy is free to make his own comments (because this is America), people who have nothing worthwhile to say have the right to comment if they have a Facebook account. I mean what I just said, I am thankful for free speech despite the side effects.

My main concern is this, I would like people to take into consideration that if you have something to say, say it well. People will be more likely to listen. You can be quiet and hold someone's attention when you sound as if you have educated yourself on the subject, when you wield the English language with power. You can be loud and others will turn you off if your words are full of explicit language, misused words, and abuse. You might as well be an adult in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Also, if you don't have a valid point, stop commenting. Why do those who have nothing of value to say keep commenting? I've yet to see one redeem themselves.

And there it is. I've said it.