It’s not news that a major front in the current cultural wars is drawn along language usage. Progressives generally show antipathy toward Standard American English grammar and mechanics.
Why is this?
The ability to adhere to a complex rule structure is basically a test of working memory and so is a good proxy for general intelligence.
An infinitely fluid, non-prescriptive approach to language allows for all sorts of post-modern shenanigans.
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
We should all memorize this snippet from Orwell. It is very important.
We should keep this type of stuff in mind on both the left and the right. Do not control language… Do not control what is taught…Do not police ideas. Allow for full debate within the marketplace of ideas.
