Top 5 reasons To Never, Correct Anyone's Grammer (or Speling)

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First off, this is for unsolicited grammer or speling corrections. If someone asks you for help proofreading then of coarse help them out. However, if they don't ask you to correct they're grammar then don't. Heres why.

1. Its Obnoxious

This is the first and most important reason; correcting mistakes is obnoxious. The whole point of language is to discuss ideas and the whole point of grammar is to ensure that language is clear. Usually though you can understand what someone is saying even if they make a grammar mistake so if you bring it up, it's like in jr. high or high school when the teacher asks a thought-provoking question and someone raises their hand to ask to use the hall pass. Your detracting from the conversation for something that doesn't matter. Its obnoxious

If the grammar is bad enough that you don't understand you can kindly ask for clarification. Be kind not rude. Thats good advice for nearly every situation.

Why I'm Pro-Life

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I try to be open-minded and see issues from multiple points of view, and for the most part, I'd say I'm successful. One issue I have a hard time seeing one side of the issue is abortion. I understand pro-choice well enough to understand why some people could be pro-choice, but the fact that more Americans are pro-choice than pro-life is mind-boggling to me. It's incomprehensible because the moral and logical arguments for pro-life seem so much stronger than those for pro-choice.

First off, let me clarify my stance. I think it's okay for a woman to have an abortion in cases of rape/incest or when her life is in danger because those are cases when her choices have been limited, but when a woman chooses to have sex and her life isn't in danger, she shouldn't be able to choose to kill her unborn child. (I know other pro-lifers think that women should be able to have an abortion when the child's health is danger, but I'm not quite sure about the reasoning behind that one, so I'm leaving it out.) For the rest of this post, I'll be focusing on normal circumstances that aren't related to rape, incest, or life endangerment (see tables 2 and 3 on pages 113-114 for reasons why women get abortions).

Lack of Ambition

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Recently, I read the book Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson. It was enjoyable, and the part that struck a chord with me was one of the conflicts that the main character Carter faces. She used to be a dancer, and we find out later in the book that the reason she stopped is because it stopped being fun for her.She felt so much pressure from others to excel, to accept a scholarship to a premier dancing school, and to seek a career as a dancer. After hearing about how competitive, rigorous, and stressful a professional dancer's life is, Carter decided that it wasn't for her and quit dancing altogether.

I can empathize with her. It seems like from the womb, there's so much pressure from home and school to "succeed," "reach for the stars," "get ahead," etc. What does success really mean? Is it the same for everyone? Why should we reach for the stars? What's wrong with the good ol' Earth? Who are we trying to get ahead of? Does this stuff really matter?

Impossible Dreams

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Last weekend, I watched the movie Frozen with my family to see what all the hype surrounding the film was about. Personally, I thought it was pretty good, but it didn’t live up to all the attention it’s been getting. I couldn’t help drawing comparisons to the movie Tangled, which I think is better overall. They’re both Disney CGI films with musical elements and goofy leading ladies. True, “Let It Go” from Frozen is a killer song, but as far as story and characters go, Tangled seems more solid.

Have Yourself a Material Little Christmas

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Odds are good that sometime this holiday season you’ll watch a Christmas movie in which the characters struggle to find “the true meaning of Christmas.” Of course, it’s unpopular for mainstream films to identify the real reason we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, so they spout off various “true meanings,” such as giving gifts or serving others, spending time with family and friends, or the idea that joy comes from people, not things. These are great aspects of the holiday, but they only represent how we celebrate Christ’s birth. One of my favorite themes in Christmas movies is anti-materialism , such as in A Charlie Brown Christmas. I’m embarrassed to say, however, that I was ignorant of the delicious irony of these films until recently. The creators of these movies are selling you something that tells you not to buy stuff. How can they pull this off? Because anti-materialism sells. Oh, man, this is the kind of irony that I just loooooove.

You might think that I’m bashing these movies, but I’m really not. Honestly, I’ll probably enjoy A Charlie Brown Christmas more now that I can appreciate the irony. You see, I’ve come to believe that there’s nothing wrong with buying things or with money. The problem comes when we “set [our] hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world” (Alma 4:8). I remember when I was younger, I used to think that the items I put on my Christmas list would change my life. One particular example I can think of is when I asked for a Game Boy Advance. I was so excited when I opened it up on Christmas morning, and I thought my life would be drastically improved, but as it turns out, my life was pretty much the same. Sure, it brought me some pleasure, but that was it. In time, I’ve come to view what I put on my Christmas list differently. I think the items will bring me some pleasure, entertainment, and possibly even enrichment, but overall, I’ve come to understand that joy in life comes from people, not things.

Prejudice Vs. Understanding

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Watching 42 the other day, which I enjoyed, I couldn't help but draw parallels from the civil rights battles they fought in Jackie Robinson's time to the civil rights battles that are being fought today. Anyone might tell you that racism is alive in America, but I think we can all concede that the situations for racial minorities in America have gotten better and continue to improve. Therefore, the civil rights movement of today has shifted focus to the LGBT community.

Gay marriage is going to be legalized in the entire United States. It's just a matter of time. It's crazy that an idea that was so foreign to me just a few years ago now seems inevitable. I remember in junior high and high school that kids would use the term "gay" to refer to things or people they didn't like. Of course, I don't think they were thinking of the word in the homosexual sense, but it was still definitely a word that was meant in a derogatory sense. I never thought much about gays in high school, and now it seems like the gay movement is everywhere. The conversation is everywhere as well, and people are being forced to question their preconceptions and beliefs.

Uncommon Sense

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Whenever I hear about common sense, I like to joke that credit cards are replacing common cents. Har, har. But seriously, I don't believe in common sense anymore for two reasons: one of my roommates, and, of course, preschoolers (since I mention them in many of my posts).

First, my roommate. He defies logic. To me, it's common sense to wash your dishes in a reasonable time frame. By reasonable time frame, the same day as you use dishes would be ideal, but life gets in the way, so I think three or fours days is a reasonable time period. Leaving dishes out for weeks on end is something I would deem unreasonable, especially since we have a dishwasher. To me, it's common sense to not turn the living room into a hydroponics garden. (As a side note, he's growing Venus flytraps to eat the bugs that are possibly spawning because of the dirty dishes he leaves out. Oh, I love irony.) To me, it's common sense to listen to music at a moderate volume and not blasting out of the speakers so the whole apartment can hear it, whether they want to or not (most cases, not).

Offense Taken

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Our society has gotten to the point where people who get offended are looked down upon. Now, there are some cases in which offended people bug me. For instance, I have a hard time believing atheists are actually offended by the Pledge of Allegiance containing the phrase "under God," and I'm annoyed when people overreact to offensive things. Overall, though, I think that our society would be better if people were offended more. To clarify, I'm not saying that I want people to go around complaining constantly about all the offensive things to be found in our culture. In most cases, avoidance is the best and easiest solution. However, I really think that our society's values and morals are degrading, and it's definitely causing problems.

Take me, for example. I have seen way too much sex and violence in movies, TV shows, video games, the Internet, books, and the media in general. After experiencing all of that, I've become desensitized to sex and violence, and that bothers me. What's more, it's hard to convince myself to try to re-sensitize myself, if that's even possible, because I enjoy things that have sex and violence. For example, one of my favorite TV shows is The Office. The awkward humor in that show makes me laugh my head off, and between the character's interactions and the Jim and Pam love story, The Office means a lot to me. Those of you who have seen the show know that it has a lot of sexual humor. The sexual humor bothers me, but it doesn't bother me enough to get me to stop watching the show, and that's a problem.

Help, Please!

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Christmas is coming. I must confess that although I used to love Christmas, I'm not a huge fan of it anymore. I concur with the Charlie Brown and Stan Freberg school of thought that the holiday has become too commercial. The true meaning of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, gets a bit lost with all the decorations, Santa, and presents. Plus, in an ideal world, I would prefer it if we could give each other presents as surprises out of love or because of accomplishments rather than a couple of set times each year. However, I also understand that having a set time like Christmas is useful because it might be easy to forget to give loved ones presents otherwise.

Anyway, odds are that this time of year, you're going to hear someone say, "It's better to give than receive." It's one of those phrases that everyone says but not everyone necessarily believes. I mean, let's face, it's pretty awesome when you get a gift that someone obviously put a lot of time and thought into. A gift that tells you that the giver really loves you a lot. In that case, is it really better to give than receive?

Better than Real?

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Nowadays, children or their parents can pay extra money to have photographers digitally remove blemishes from their school photos. That's disgusting. Let me elaborate. Ever since high school, I've had a fair amount of zits on my face. On picture day of my senior year, I had the good fortune of having an enormous pimple on my nose. I could've paid more (or more likely, asked my mom to pay more, lol) to have it removed, but I didn't consider it seriously. I mean, the main reason for school photos and most other photos is to preserve memories, right? Why would I want to preserve a memory that isn't real? I had a zit that day, it's on the picture, and to this day, you can see that picture in all of its 8" x 10" pimply glory in my mom's dining room. That is a real memory. Unfortunately, we live in a society that seems to favor "fakeality" over reality.

I've already mentioned how digitally altered photos preserve fake memories, but there's something else I want to discuss with regards to photographs - the myth of the perfect body. Newsflash: in case the word "myth" didn't clue you in, there is no such thing as a perfect body. Every culture and time period has a different definition of beauty. To me, I can only find one thing in common with the various definitions: achieving beauty is painful, time-consuming, and dangerous. Today, individuals with a certain body type are photographed and celebrated as being incredibly beautiful, making the majority of people without that body type feel ugly. Further adding to this disgusting practice is the fact that models are also digitally "enhanced." Modern women suffer from body image issues and eating disorders. Some modern men have body image issues, but I'd have to say that they're biggest problem along these lines is porn addiction. They become addicted to looking at fake women. Who benefits from perpetuating the myth of the perfect body? Well, take a look at this video from a famous doctor of cultural commentary. So, yeah, in today's society, diet and exercise fad salesmen benefit.

Information Overload

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I don't want you, the reader of this blog, to think that just because I'm the writer means I have to do all the work. Actually, I'm going to put you to work right now. I need you to count the number of movies, albums, and books that were produced, released, and/or published in the year 2009. Oh, and while you're at it, watch, listen to, or read every single movie, album, and book from 2009. Kinda intimidating, huh? You're just lucky that I'm not making you read every new blog and magazine and watch every new TV show and play every new video game.

The point is that the world is full to the brim with all sorts of information and entertainment. I try to keep up with stuff that's going on in the world, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much stuff is out there. And since I'm thinking I want to work with books or movies when I grow up, I feel a little wary about adding to the already overflowing pot of entertainment.

Trees in the Wind

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A few months ago, a friend got me hooked up with being a substitute aide at a preschool. (Best. Job. Ever.) Before I started, I thought that since the kids were so young (3-5 yrs. old)  the classes would be loosely structured, and the kids would mostly just play the whole time. There was a lot of playing, but the schedule was surprisingly adamant (surprising to me, at least). Every teacher ordered their agendas differently, but they all had the same basic elements (opening circle, snack time, play time, recess, etc.), and each teacher did the same order every day.

My friend told me that the specific schedule was very important, but I didn't believe her until right after spring break. The first few days back were crazy because the kids had gotten used to their at-home or on-vacation schedule and they needed time to get adjusted back to the school schedule. After those few days, I definitely understand how vital routine is to suppress total chaos.

My New Sports Analogy

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Lately, I've been thinking about a movie that my bishop had the youth in my ward watch a few years back. (I have to mention my bishop because he said he was worried that I would mention him in my blog, and then I told him I'd be sure to include him at some point.) The movie was Facing the Giants. It's a Christian movie which basically compares the gospel to football. It's a good movie; very inspirational, funny, good morals, etc. In particular, my bishop emphasized a scene where the coach puts a blindfold on one of the players and challenges the player to crawl across as much of the football field as he can with another player on his back. The player ends up crawling across the entire field, and it turns into a teaching moment for the coach.

Anyway, for some reason, I started wondering what I would do if I were in that player's shoes. Let's say that by some miracle I feel a desire to be on a high school football team, I make the team, and I stay on long enough to make it to this moment. Would I crawl across the entire field? I don't think so. You see, towards the end of that player's crawl, the coach gets down into his face and yells at him constantly. "Don't give up! Don't quit! Do your best, your very best!" That would drive me insane. Seriously, I would just drop down and quit right then. Why? Because football is just a game; it's not life and death. That's when I finally understood the main problem I have with sports movies and analogies: sports are not about winning and losing. They're not even about how you play the game.

Mormon Swear Words

Swear words. I remember starting to hear kids say them in the later grades of elementary school. The number of swear words I heard per day peaked during junior high and dipped considerably in high school. But there’s a certain group of words that I’ve heard consistently throughout my entire life: Mormon swear words.

Yeah, that’s right, you know what I’m talking about. Those words that aren’t swear words but sound similar enough that you know what words they’re replacing. If everyone knows exactly what you’re not saying, then are Mormon swear words any better than the actual swear words?

Growing up, my mom had an unwritten list of “garbage words”—words we weren’t allowed to say. Swear words were on the list, naturally, but so were most Mormon swear words, mean words, and even words that we said too often (i.e. annoying words). I must confess I have said mean words upon occasion (sorry, Mom) and one Mormon swear word that inexplicably escaped the list, but other than that, I’ve been pretty good at not saying the garbage words. Yes, I am tempted to use these words upon occasion, but I feel I’m not tempted as often as I hear people say them.

The Great Facebook Popularity Contest

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I log onto Facebook and see that John Doe has requested to be my friend. John Doe, John Doe . . . do I know any John Does? Let’s see, 3 mutual friends, ok, and . . . 1,825 total friends! How did he get so many friends? I had to really stretch for the, well, less-than-200 friends I have.

Even though I know it’s silly, I can’t help but wonder what’s wrong with me and what’s right with John Doe that makes him have so many more friends than me. Then again, who is this John Doe? I don’t think I actually know him. Does he, perhaps, request to be friends with people he doesn’t know just so he has more “friends”?

Popularity contests are not a new thing in our culture, and they start early in most people’s lives. In student government elections, students don’t vote based on platforms (not that there are many available platforms in school); they vote for whoever they like the most. And honestly, I don’t think things change much as we grow older. Yes, politicians can have radically different views and opinions, but for the most part, people simply vote for who they like or who their friends are voting for, if they vote at all.