Use of the Internet has led me to conclude that the standards for education in the United States are in rapid decline. I am aware, of course, that the Internet is used by people all over the world, but I am not concerned with the English-language skills of those with an alternative primary language.

I would venture to guess that the majority of the "Hubs" on this site are written by citizens of the United States. I find it to be rather frustrating to read the pathetic dreck posted by a great number of these users; poorly written trash rife with misspellings, poor grammar, and misused (if not missing altogether) punctuation.

Who do I blame? Teachers. School administrators. Teachers' unions. To a lesser degree, parents. If you don't already know why I would choose to blame these people, then you are probably either part of the problem or simply oblivious to the world around you. I am not going to explain it to you because this Hub is a rant, not an exposé. Put down the video game controller. Stop believing the overly-liberal and increasingly-superficial media. Do some research. Educate yourself about the self-serving (not student-serving) nature of the modern teachers' unions. Educate yourself about the failures and waste that characterize the bureaucracies of local education administrations. Realize that not everyone involved is crooked and self-serving... but most are, or end up being so.

The thing is, I find it hard to believe that people don't at least realize that they are being short-changed by the education they are provided. Students, and society in general, should strive for greater achievement and demand more of themselves. It is perfectly acceptable to make mistakes and still hold one's head up high. However, demonstrating a complete lack of self-respect by refusing to even try to write something properly is akin to asking for ridicule. So, while I hold more people responsible for a poorly-educated individual than just the individual himself (or "herself", to appease the political correctness crowd), I cannot dismiss that individual from all responsibility. Therefor, I declare that individual to be a complete dumb-ass.