Grammar Got Run Over By a Reindeer

I have a confession to make. I am an elitist. I possess the elitist opinion that a person who is serving in a leadership capacity should have the ability to put together complete, coherent, and proper sentences. I’m not an English teacher and I will not even begin to suggest that I don’t make mistakes when using the English language. In fact I frequently make spelling and grammatical errors and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Not only do I frequently make errors, I have also been known to speak in slang and/or swear at times. You'll probably find a mistake or ten in this blog. However, when I lived in small town America, my mother (who reads this blog so Hi Mom!) frequently nagged me….I mean reminded me about the importance of using proper grammar and a dictionary. Thank goodness she did because I have reaped many rewards as a result of understanding the importance of words and articulate speech. For the last 8 years I have watched our Commander in Chief make a complete ass of himself by bungling the English language and it drives me insane. Once again we are face to face with a political figure who is shockingly inarticulate. What’s even worse is that she seems to think it’s excusable because it makes her more like us. I come from the Midwest and as a result I say my O's funny. I can't fault the woman for her dialect but it's positively shocking to me that she can't figure out how to put words in the right order and that people find this to be acceptable behavior. Here are a few shining examples of the Governor massacring our language:


"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." --Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008


"Well, let's see. There's ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―" ―Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008


This one is my favorite so far (and it prompted this blog):

"It's all pro-America. I was just reinforcing the fact that there, where I was, there's good patriotic people there in these rallies, so excited about positive change and reform of government that's coming that they are so appreciative of hearing our message, hearing our plan. Not any one area of America is more pro-America patriotically than others," Palin responding to criticism from Joe Biden at a fundraiser in North Carolina, October 17, 2008


For good measure, here’s one that that is disconcerting not only for its odd use of the English language but also for its content:

"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." ―Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Sept. 30, 2008


My friends, this brazen slaughter of the English language is not cute. I do not find anything endearing or sweet about a public official speaking like she barely made it through the 6th grade.

First, I am offended by the idea that because she is from a small town Mrs. Palin is given a free pass to talk like an idiot. It not only devalues the importance of education for people in communities of all sizes, it’s also inherently false. Some of the most well versed individuals I know are the products of small town education. Sarah Palin's inability to effectively and appropriately communicate perpetuates the myth that small town citizen = unsophisticated and under-educated.

Second, I think a person’s ability to construct sentences and communicate has a direct correlation to that individual’s thought process and intelligence. I don’t think this point requires any further explanation.

Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, communication is one of the cornerstones of leadership. Joe six-pack may like it that the Governor speaks his language but I can assure you that they don’t appreciate it at the U.N. and we certainly don’t appreciate it in this house. Like it or not, we now live in a global community and I am appalled by the idea that a woman who might represent us on a global stage will be made fun of because she can’t talk. I've watched "W" do it for 8 years and it’s degrading and humiliating.

I am not against the idea of a small town Washington outsider running for President. In fact I think the idea is grand. Give me a small town candidate who can communicate their ideas to me coherently and with even a shred of eloquence and I’ll listen intently to what they have to say. This isn't an issue of experience, it is a matter of being represented by someone who does not demonstrate the ability to speak as though she were educated (even though she does have a degree in *GASP* Journalism {I say as I vigorously shake my head in disgust that someone awarded her a degree in a subject that requires excellent writing skills not to mention the fact that she couldn't name a damn newspaper or magazine}).

If my expectation that the leaders of the free world should have a better than basic grasp on the English language is unreasonable, I guess I don’t fit in with the rest of you America. I’ll be watching for the USPS to deliver my elitist club card any day now and my new elitist friends and I will sit around having grammatically correct conversations with each other while the rest of you are busy being “real Americans” who don't care about silly little things like proper speech and global image. I wish you and your word fumbling candidate the best of luck in your efforts to make America respectable again.