This seems to be following a national trend. A writer, Jeff Deck, took his friend, Benjamin D. Herson, on a trek across the nation to find typographic errors on street signs and to correct the mistakes if possible. The adventure is chronicled in the book "The Great Typo Hunt." Apostrophe "s"s where there should be plural "s"s, misspellings, and poor grammar line the streets and shops of America.
So, what's the big deal? Why is the spelling of "SCHOOL" and GUILFORD" important? Who cares about apostrophe "s"s anyway, you might be thinking. There are more important things to worry about. Everybody knows what is meant, right?
The point is that in no other English speaking country could I imagine that such a gaff would take place. It would be considered idiocy, precisely because it is such a small deal. If it is considered a part of a person's basic education to know the rules of the language that the person speaks, then anyone, under any circumstances, should not have a problem with using English properly. This is why employers ask if you have a high school education when you apply for a job, to make sure that the basics are covered. Frankly, to misspell "SCHOOL" directly outside of a school is not just plainly stupid, but is emblematic of the quality of education that we give our children in America.
American culture left behind much from European culture that it did not consider of practical necessity. We are a pragmatic people, and if there is no practical use for something, then we tend to ignore it, or to not waste time on it. This, taken to an extreme, can cause us to view rules such as avoidance of dangling participles to be of no consequence. In the "real world," we think, such things do not cost me money, do not get in the way of performing a task, and are therefore considered unimportant. "Who Cares?" may as well replace "E Pluribus Unum" as our national motto.
We commit the sin of ignorance combined with arrogance, acting like we rule the world while advertising by our actions that we are slipshod, careless, and don't take the time to be thorough in any endeavor that we undertake. We signal that we can easily have the wool pulled over our eyes, and in fact this has happened to many Americans, who did not take the time to read the contracts that they signed, or to understand the systems that run our society or the companies in which we invest. While poor grammar is in itself a small thing, it is an example of the sloth that has led us into the mess in which we find ourselves today.
America, stop being stupid!
