Ultimately, it is only the public that holds the power to enforce professional standards, and therefore each of us must accept this responsibility. – James Kerian
by Tina Grazier
Today as I pondered the latest Supreme Court decisions I was acutely aware of the importance of language and communication. I considered the great care taken by our founders to get each and every word, phrase, and punctuation mark exactly right so that the meaning would be clear. They did not run from debate and they did not affix their signatures until all could agree that the document was solid, resolute, defensible, and complete. Our Constitution was written by men with a profound respect for the written word. It has been lauded around the world for its greatness. Still, today, we find that Supreme Court Justices cannot agree on its meaning. I submit that the problem isnt with the Constitution but with the layers of complex, often conflicting laws that confound and frustrate even the most highly educated men. Our laws, lacking in simplicity and clarity, have become unmanageable things, sometimes so complex that we find they contradict each other. It could be said that our laws have failed to serve us to the degree that lawmakers have failed to retain a similar healthy respect for the language.
But it isnt lawmakers alone that participate in this colossal failure.
Language is used to educate our children and prepare young people to become responsible adults as they take their places in society. The failures in education have touched every area of society: business and the arts, science and the law, even the service we get from fast food workers and retailers. Likewise, language is used every day to bring information and facts to the American people through the media. A population that has not been adequately informed will fail to bring pressures to bear on elected officials that spring from a sense of clarity.
A revolution has been occurring in our nation; a revolution gaining in strength but facing fierce opposition. It is a revolution to reclaim the English language and to create healthy expectations for excellence in the use of our language. We wish to effect every area of our society but specifically in education, the writing of law and its interpretation, and in journalism.
A very fine and informative article helped to inspire these thoughts tonight. It was written by a mechanical engineer and small business owner living in Grafton, North Dakota. The quote at the top of the page, taken from the article, serves as a call to arms. The article touches on the effects that irresoinsible and inaccurate use of language has had on journalism and our society and the fact that it has now spread to the world of science. Those of you who are interested in the destruction that follows the loss of our language, a condition that permeates our society, will want to read Yellow Science, by James Kerian posted in The Wall Street Journal:
In the late 19th century, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer developed what would come to be known as yellow journalism. By disregarding what had been standard journalistic methods, particularly in regards to the verifying of sources, these two publishers were able both to push their country toward war with Spain and dramatically increase the circulation of their respective newspapers. ** Man has always had a healthy desire for knowledge, and it is the feeding of this hunger that ennobles journalism. Hearst and Pulitzer were acutely aware that man has a less healthy but no less voracious desire to believe that he has knowledge, particularly knowledge of something sensational. It is the feeding of this hunger that irreparably disgraced journalism, and a century later now threatens to do the same to science.