Re: AIS: HIST: REF: Early Checklists

In a message dated 8/2/2007 7:43:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
steve@familyszabo.com writes:

<<There are lists on which I am far more active in posting than  on this list.
From time to time, I hear that my posts are too hard to  understand,
though they are written in plain, good American English, and  state
exactly what I mean so there can be no misunderstanding.
 
This business of criticizing personal modes of expression is  something I 
have observed to be associated with mailing lists  generally.Certainly in the 
social circles in which I move --by which I mean  real life-- it would be 
considered presumptuous in the  extreme and downright incivil to take someone to task 
for  their deployment of language where that language was not obscene,  
psychologically violent, or otherwise inherently objectionable. 
 
I can't imagine expecting anyone in a forum such as this to  package his or 
her ideas to my preferences or my  limitations. They get to be themselves, and 
I get to read  their posts, or ignore them. 
 
<< This urge to make things simple, I think, probably comes  from our
educational systems, where teachers are forced to teach to the  lowest
common denominator, rather than stretching students to think and  achieve
more than they would otherwise. (Well, that is what I hear from  the
three teachers in my family, your mileage may vary.) 
 
It also comes from that American streak of anti-intellectualism we are  told 
is part of our Puritan heritage--or someone's Puritan heritage, not  mine, I 
am a Virginian and we were settled by the Cavaliers, not Roundheads,  thank 
goodness, and we have our own ideas about what is seemly and nice. We  don't mind 
idiosyncratic verbosity, indeed if someone gets going real good we  will 
stand up on our chairs and cheer them on, but we can't  abide self-appointed hall 
monitors.
 
Cordially,
 
Anner Whitehead
Richmond VA USA 
 
 





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