COLUMN: Forgotten?
Has it been so long? Have we become so technologically advanced we have forgotten the feeling of graphite on parchment? What about the other long-forgotten tools, not just of writers, not just of journalists, but of all well-educated men, women and children.
Writing is dead.
In a matter of two decades the fountain pen has been replaced by a stylus that no matter how hard you chew on the end or gnaw on the tip, it just will not leak in the pocket of your favorite shirt. Parchment and 20-pound stock have been reduced, reused and recycled into the form of a liquid crystal display and a computer that rivals my wallet for pocket space.
Cursive – nay – all handwriting has gone the way of the Dodo. Manual communication has been copyrighted (graffiti, Palm), as we have a new generation of students recognizing characters that more closely resemble those of courtroom shorthand than those of the standard roman alphabet.
This problem is not exclusive to students, but may have its roots in our teachers and professors. Many of today’s educators will not accept a document from a student if it is not in 12-point Times New Roman type double spaced and triple spell-checked. This is an atrocity against society and education.
Instead of taking the time to teach the future generations proper handwriting, cursive and print, we have taken up the generation X call to arms of “Why bother?” Even now I see students around me in a university setting that cannot write using cursive script.
The written language is the one definitive thing that separates humans from the animals. Even a chimpanzee can be taught to recognize symbols on a keyboard. It just doesn’t understand what they mean.
We as a society must not let this simple and basic intelligence slide to the point where cursive becomes an art form and not a simple form of communication, and the only artists to use it are scrapbookers (no offense).
Even now as I type this on my laptop computer so this article can go to print, I realize the foul little trick team Irony is playing on me.
With every step forward we make as a society, we must also consider the possibility that we may be taking steps backward in other areas of our society. In some instances this is acceptable. In other instances we may loose priceless information. Let’s not make handwriting a lost art.
Zak Larsen is a sophomore majoring in journalism. Comments can be sent to him at zlars@cc.usu.edu.