Down with Hashtags!! #%@$?????

I am really sick and tired of reading lines of gobbly gook with symbols that mean absolutely nothing to me. Have we gone so far into the future that the beauty of writing is now replaced with a symbol or an acronym? What happened to the poetic flow of words divinely written on a page that touches our hearts and makes us want to soar into the clouds??? We are suddenly reduced to a certain number of characters and that leaves me so unsatisfied and completely mystified as to why this has happened to our brave new world. To me, personally, this is a horrendous crime that should be punishable by imprisonment - In a classroom!!!!! And the perpetrators must be left in a room with dozens of well-written novels and a host of simple notebook pads and several pencils to fix their errors before they can be released! These grammar criminals must then be sentenced to answer essay questions in COMPLETE sentences in order to be released or achieve bail. Wouldn’t that be sweet redemption???

I ask you friends, what has happened to the splendor of the written word? Is it any wonder that we are raising a generation filled with grammatically inept imbeciles????? Isn’t it fantastic enough that we can talk to anyone in the world immediately on our computers, or on our phones, and text people in an instant? Have we become so lazy that we are now incapable of putting together a complete sentence as well????

I for one am rebelling!!! DOWN with HASHTAGS!! (Whatever the hell they are!!!!!!) I profess not to understand what any of them mean. They are worse than trying to read ancient Hebrew - without the vowels. AND, I grow weary of hearing that people are offended when their blatant grammatical mistakes are kindly corrected. When did it become a crime to enlighten people for their betterment?????? Mistakes left untouched perpetuate illiteracy and keep errors going on and on and on... and now that my generation has become the mentors in society, the parents, the grandparents, the teachers of all those who follow... we have a responsibility to set an example for our successors! If we don’t help them, they will never become fully rounded, educated human beings, and literature as we know it, will cease to exist.

I do try not to re- touch up anything that is said passionately or fix typos in other people’s emails or on Facebook, as hard as that is for a retired teacher like myself. Goodness knows I make a million typos myself in this world of instant responses and sometimes my arthritic hands get the best of me... but using double negatives? THAT demands instant correction! Those are like fingernails on a chalkboard and we must draw the line somewhere. There is no excuse for bad grammar in our brave new technological world when every electronic device contains a built in dictionary. And unless the writer puts grammatically incorrect language in quotes to make a point, I feel compelled to use my electronic red pen and fix those mistakes. SOMEBODY has to do it! We live a technological world where Google and Goodsearch are a click away. It has never been easier to find a solution to a problem or correct your spelling. Yet, people aren't taking advantage of this miraculous gift. If society chooses not to keep the written word going and remain relevant, than what are we reduced to??? Hashtags???? Blechhhhhhhhh!

Poetry is now re-emerging as an art form. taking rap into a Shakespearean thing of beauty....Society will turn around and we have to be part of that venture. Without our writers, our elegance as a nation disappears. The words of Abigail Adams written to her husband ( John Adams) when she begged him to "Remember the ladies" as we fought for our Nation's independence, was tastefully written with such charm and grace and directly to the point! We can't lose the art of communication and become cave men and women grunting and groaning again. Thus, my dear friends, you must understand that if I correct a couple of words now and then, I do so with love and reverence for the written word....G-d Bless Grammar!!!
And I respectfully say, Death to hashtags!!!!