Sometimes I get so sick of griping about hypocritical politicians, I feel like just turning off the switch and griping about something more specific. After all, hypocrisy among politicians is a very broad topic, from Newt's willingness to say almost anything to corral the pro-Israel and Hispanic vote to Rick Perry's constant attempt to convince us he's a rational human being. From being unable to remember which agencies he wants to dismantle to how many members comprise the Supreme Court, Perry is able to give a first class imitation of a congenital idiot. Couple that with the amount of money he has conned out of the taxpayers for Texas projects and he gets an "A" on the hypocrisy scale as well as challeging Herman Cain and Michele Bachman on the presidential unfitness continuum.
In this diary, however, I'd like to confine myself to the most misspelled word in the English language: its.
For a word with only three letters, "its" has wreaked havoc with proper spelling. Aside from "lose" and "loose," I can't think of any common word that has endured the abuse administered to "its" over the years.
There are a couple of reasons, I think, why this word has taken such punishment. For one, standards of spelling have gone down faster than standards of ethics. Second, in the age of spell checkers, "its" will not be challenged when used as a contraction, as "Its a shame Sarah Palin didn't stay in Alaska." As a matter of fact, this sentence illustrates the solution to the whole "its" problem. The apostrophe is only used when you want to say "it is" or "it has." At all other times, it's just "its." This simple rule, which at one time would get you an "F" if broken when submitting a freshman essay, is somehow not taught anymore, which is either a pity or a who-gives-a-crap, depending on the age and background of the speaker.
The same goes for "I hope I don't lose this watch because the band is loose" and "I hope the low-pressure effect doesn't affect my mood." And "I can help myself to the complimentary snacks without swiping the complementary table decorations." You get the point.
I realize there are a whole army of people who simply don't think spelling and grammar are important. "It's the meaning," they say. Sure. But when it's just as easy to do things right, why do things wrong? If we're going to change things, why not go all the way and get rid of letters like "c" and "x" and get back to basics like kounting money, painting the seeling and having lots of secks?
I know grammar isn't as much fun as politics, but who says you can't do both?
George Will does.