This isn’t a political post. I try
to stay away from that stuff on my blog as I find it too depressing. This is
just a story of an actual thing that happened to me when I went to vote.
Let me set the scene: I went up to
the table where they made me show them my license (an evil
practice) and sign in. I sign my name, take my license back. And…
Lady: Oh! You used cursive.
Me: It’s just a signature.
L: You never see cursive these days.
Me: That’s because there’s no use
for it.
L: Well… what if you have to read it?
Me: I’ve literally never had to do
that. Everything is digital these days anyway.
L: But… what if you went to
Washington DC? You’d have to read it then.
Me: …I can’t imagine a scenario
where I’d actually have to read something in cursive. Like, ever. Even DC has
to be digital these days. It’s the only way to survive.
Finally she shut up and gave me my
ballot so I could get the hell out of there. Seriously, what is with people
clinging to this useless, dead writing system like its ubiquitous and we’re
harming ourselves by not using it? I am not exaggerating when I say I’ve never
had to read cursive since I was forced to learn it in the third grade. There
are people who worship cursive like it’s some sort of deity.
Well, it’s not. It’s illegible,
pointless, and obsolete. Deal with it.
And if I’m going to DC, I’m going to
be bashing in skulls, not reading.
They don't even teach kids cursive at school anymore. In fact, they barely teach them to handwrite at all. Both my kids have handwriting that looks like a 4-year old's. It worries me...
ReplyDeleteI hated writing it, but how do kids sign their names these days? Printing is not a signature. What do they put on checks and legal documents?
ReplyDeleteBTW - our state just voted looking at driver's license back in. Sorry, but it bugged me before that just anyone could go in, say they were me, and they could vote in my name.
No voter IDs for us. I literally walked in with my keys, my sunglasses, and the lip balm in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteI vote for skull bashing.
ReplyDeleteI still use cursive. But, um, even when it's mine, I can barely read it and have to use a lot of interpretation to figure out what I wrote.
My handwriting is illegible, sometimes even to me.
ReplyDeleteI use cursive and it is beautiful. Teaching cursive to 2nd-4th graders was important. Still is. My gr-daughters struggle to read it. If I were still teaching, cursive would be in the lesson plans. While it seems a lost language, when the elec. shuts down people can't use digital.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused as to why she was shocked to see your signature in cursive. Isn't that how everyone does it?
ReplyDelete