Submitted by Curtis Price, Sep 6, 2008 17:39

I'm not so sure we shouldn't pine a bit more for the language-based culture of Mr. Faw-uhd Cahs era. Yes, it was stilted and rigid. Yes. rote grammar learning exacted a price. But if we get beyond that, look at the power and depth of the thinking such culture produced. Can you compare a Du Bois or CLR James to a Michael Dyson or Cornell West, for instance? To raise the question is to answer it . . . Language evolves and its fun to watch it do just that. But today's language evolution has more to do with the homogenizing influence of mass culture and advertising and less with genuine improvisation. It evolves more - and resonates less.

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