Way back in the dark ages (before the Internet), words were precious things. We would gather them up like jewels, fussing over each and every one of them to get just the perfect arrangement. We would show them to several people, get opinions and feedback, check for errors, and then ink them carefully onto paper protected by a thick leather cover.

LOL now we just write whatever we want and most people dont even know how to spell punctuation let alone use it im guilty of this myself :-p

I fear that speech is now too free. By that I mean that it is now too easy for a person to broadcast every small, inconsequential, and unfiltered thought instantly around the world. It started with web pages, became easier with blogs, easier still with MySpace and Facebook, and now thanks to Twitter the world knows instantly what every celebrity had for breakfast. Enough is enough.

And yes, I see the irony that I am writing about this on my blog, and posting it to Facebook. In fact, as a writer, the age of disposable words has been both a blessing and a curse for me. Thanks to advancements such as the Internet, self-publishing, and e-books, the barriers to becoming a writer have all but been eliminated. The down side to this, of course, is that talented writers and worthy books are now drowning in a sea of mediocrity. It seems that suddenly everyone thinks they are all bright and shiny stars, filled with witticisms and insights, who owe it to the world to share the funny thing their cat did with a tissue box.

So what is my point, you might be asking. I don’t know, to be honest. Perhaps I am just an aging man who is grumbling about the good old days when men were men and words had value. Or perhaps I am trying to sound a wake up call to the Nintendo generation, urging them to cherish their linguistic freedom and respect it by putting some thought and effort behind their writing. Or perhaps I am simply… lol look at that! My cat just got its head stuck in a tissue box! ROTFLMAO