The Modern Pragmatist I started this website in the hope that there are people out there, like me, who still value common sense and intelligible communication. Sadly, the more I see on the news, and the more typos I find on signage and on slogans in established businesses (like Washington Mutual) the more I begin to think that the world is getting dumber. Mass media and the pervasiveness of the Internet have dumbed information down just enough to convince people that they're smart -- which in turn convinces them that they don't have to pay attention to grammar or attend to their studies enough to develop clear communication skills because they obviously understand the world well enough as it is. Just because blogging, emailing and IM-ing have become mainstream forms of communication doesn't mean that grammar, spelling and clear trains of thought should be forgotten. The same people that are ignoring basic grammar and writing today will be the people running our society 20 years from now. There have got to be a few people left out there who notice when a comma or an apostrophe is misplaced, or when words are misspelled, or when some form of written communication makes no sense. And there have got to be people out there motivated enough to help the people who make these mistakes realize that they're making mistakes. For a society rooted in written and oral communication traditions, we sure don't put a lot of effort into protecting our communication skills. As for myself, I grew up with parents who placed high value on good communication -- in any form. I majored in English at Western Washington University and, in four years of study, learned more than I ever wanted to about linguistics, language history, grammar, expository writing, journalistic writing, editing and organizational communication -- in short, everything about getting an idea from my head clearly onto paper or into a speech. I have worked as a reporter and special section editor for newspapers in Whatcom and Island counties, and as a freelance editor and writer. I currently work as an editor and page designer for a newspaper in Skagit County.