THE PRICE OF SHAME: What it Means to Wear the Scarlet Letter in Today's Virtual World (Seniors Only)

Reading the Scarlet Letter is something high school English teachers have insisted upon for years.  It's a classic.  Its author is said to have forged a glittering path for great American literature.  It is a culturally significant work to which many sayings, subsequent works of literature, and films have alluded.  This is all true.  As we read a work like this, it is easy to get caught up and tangled in the older more eloquent language and the extremely religious lifestyle and culture of American Puritans.  As we read Hester's story, we shake our heads in disbelief.  Who could imagine a society in which personal private decisions are against the law, and punishable in a very public way?

Adultery, while a breach of the marriage contract, is not a legal matter anymore.  It is not against the law to be punishable by prison time and social ostracization.  But we are very naive if we believe that private decisions and actions/behaviors go unpunished in today's society.  We are even more naive if we believe that sins like promiscuity or adultery do not face heavy social penalties despite the fact that they are not within arm's reach of the law.

If Hester Prynne were alive and real today, she may not have spent three months in a physical jail cell, but in many ways, I am sure it would have felt like that.  There are no more town center platforms complete with hanging scaffolds and stocks, but social media has raised public humiliation to an all time new high and extended the critical stares and pointing fingers out and beyond the town walls.

So, while we may not be able to imagine living in a society that can legally have a person shunned and socially banned for scandalous decisions, the effect is ultimately the same:  the one charged with the sin and convicted on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat is still left with a very clear message that he or she is social pariah.

I find it quite appropriate that we are reading  Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter through the season of Lent in preparation for Easter and the advent of spring.  Many of us will be observing Lent, a time when we reflect on our significance, the preciousness of life, and the grace of redemption.  The season of spring, itself, likewise, is often seen as a time of renewal and growth. This is what Hester Prynne sought in the sunlit forest.  It is what many people today seek in the warmth of a smile, a kind word, a forgiving heart or a compassionate ear.

In the following TED Talk, Monica Lewinsky, a woman all too familiar with living in the spotlight of technologically advanced shaming, shares a little bit of her personal story of what it is like to be branded with the scarlet A, and explains why she has chosen this time in her  life to stand up and do something about it.  The biggest message?  The price of shame since Hester's time has escalated, and sometimes it is ultimately too high for the victim to pay.   Watch the video and then comment on two things:  what spoke to you the loudest and what YOU will personally do to change our shame culture today.

We live in interesting times.  We feel more sophisticated, yet our own petty and cruel natures still surface in even more deadly ways. We feel more accepting of different beliefs and lifestyles, yet have the ability to smear a man's or woman's reputation irreparably with the click of the mouse.  We shake our heads at racism, sexism, and discrimination and then turn to our friends and share  malicious gossip about someone else, all the time telling ourselves, "I may make mistakes, but I would NEVER do what she did!"  So, that begs the question then:  what do we do?

When gossip is shared in the hallways, walk away.  Don't take part in it or even give it your listening ear.  If someone is being bullied or whispered about, stand up for him or her rather than remaining silent. And, if someone is being ostracized or shamed online, reach out to the victim and counter it with a word of encouragement and then report it.  Brene Brown, psychologist and expert on shame, tells us that "shame cannot survive empathy."  The price of public shaming can ultimately be death: emotional and, if it gets too hard to bear, physical.  The weapon we need to fight this deadly poison is compassion.

Make sure your arsenals are full.

https://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame?language=en

THERE, THEIR, THEY'RE: Comforting grammar anxiety in a "syntaxed" world...

There are many quite unflattering names to describe those individuals for whom proper grammar and syntax is extremely important:  The Grammar Hammer, Grammar Nazi,  OCGD's (obsessive compulsive grammar disorder), and Grammar Police are only a few examples.

I guess it makes sense that our current culture would refer to these grammar gurus in a negative way.  After all, we live in a high-tech, speed-of-light, word-counting world, and these detail crazies are annoying. We don't have time to write out the whole words. And that extra button to capitalize the personal I?  Well, it can be a personal pain that interrupts the texting flow.  Numbers have started to find their way into our words:  l8r, m8, let's go sk8ing, for the sake of time and a strange sort of cleverness I don't fully understand.  As far as capital letters to begin our sentences or put nouns in their "proper place?" (only the true grammar nerds will get that one) That is almost a dead art.

Believe it or not, I was your age once.  I remember believing that it was more about the creativity and "word painting" ability as a writer than where the commas and semi-colons belonged.  I wanted my writing to move people, to make readers fall in love with my characters and sit on the edge of their seats with my masterful conflict weaving; I wanted to make them see something differently, or maybe even REALLY see something for the first time.   Punctuation?  That was cute, too, but not as important as style.  Much to my chagrin, Marina High School's Honors English III teacher, Mr. Hole, had a very different point of view...

The first piece of writing I ever turned in to him was a narrative.  I was very proud of that narrative and expected to receive some encouraging comments of recognition when it was returned.  Instead, my paper floated back to me in a river of red ink. I was crushed, and if I am completely honest, I was also indignant... and a little bitter.

For a while, I was afraid to write for Mr. Hole.  I experienced blocks that I had never known as a writer.  I was convinced my past glowing reports were all just a sham, and now that I had entered the world of REAL writers, well, I just plain wasn't one.  I went to see him during office hours every time we had a paper due, brimming with all sorts of insecure questions.  I would write, rewrite, throw away, and write again before I would show anything to him.   Then, one day, he said this to me, and it really changed everything:  "Kristin, you are a great writer. You are creative, and I can tell you have a genuine love of words and storytelling.  You must believe you are an artist.  But what good will any of that do you if people cannot clearly see the vision you have poured out on the page?"

It stuck.  I even wrote it down to remind myself of that.  What good, indeed?  Furthermore, what if a poorly placed comma or missing semi-colon placed my work in a negative light for an intelligent, syntax-savvy reader?  This was a necessary, humbling experience that not only made me a better, more effective writer, but it also made me realize how complex the process of creating communication really was...and you know what?  It SHOULD be!  Communicating effectively deserves our time and close attention!  Words are extremely powerful!  We have certainly explored that notion quite a bit this year.  But that power is quickly drained in untrained hands.  Nathaniel Hawthorne said it best: "Words: so innocent and powerless as they are standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows well how to combine them."

So, why should you care?  Well, for one, like it or not, the professional world cares.  According to  an article in Forbes Magazine (dated March 11, 2013),  "....good grammar is a fairly accurate predictor of professional success."  Apparently, there are studies to prove it.

1.  Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their profiles had achieved higher positions.  The profiles of those who'd failed to achieve director-level positions within the first ten years of their careers made almost three times as many grammatical errors as their director-level colleagues.

2.  Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions.  Professionals with six to nine promotions made 45% fewer grammatical errors than those who'd been promoted 1-4 times.

In the article, Forbes interviewed iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens, who maintained that grammar skills typically indicate positive workplace traits, including but not limited to attention to detail, critical thinking , and intellectual aptitude.

You don't need to be a Forbes editor or a Fortune 500 CEO to know that you only get one chance to make a first impression.  In our tech-savvy world, most communication is now written and sent via email or text messaging. When face time technology is used, grammar and syntax skills still come through in verbal communication: "With whom shall I conference on this topic?" vs. "Who do I follow up with?"  OR  "Where shall we meet on Friday?"  vs. "Where do you wanna meet up at this Friday?"

I'll admit that last so-called sentence I just typed made me CRINGE!  Yuck!  As picky as I have become about grammar now, years after high school,  I still do not profess to be perfect or even nearly so when it comes to English grammar and syntax, but I do strongly believe in its great significance.  As you revise and edit your essays in this class and future ones, please take the time to consult grammar and syntax resources, such as the classic Elements of Style book that graced many an English major's personal libraries.  It is time very well spent, as it makes such a difference in how others perceive you as a communicator!  We may be moving from the calligraphy pen to the stylus, but that just means communication is more readily available and easy to access.  Now, more than ever, it is important to be an excellent, effective communicator... literally!

Please take a moment to enjoy these humorous blog commentaries through the links below.  They really make grammar fun and a bit hilarious, too!  The first one about the "alot" is one of my favorites, and it will certainly give you a much needed comic relief, but on another level, it will also show you how seriously the Grammar Hammers of the world take this issue.  Hey, let's be honest, you should probably take it seriously, too, because according to Forbes, these Grammar Nazi, OCGD, Grammar Police will most likely be your employers and promoters someday!

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/who_vs_whom

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Enjoy reading the blog posts on these links and comment on your favorite!  Then, confess:  What is your biggest grammar or editing challenge?  How do you plan to tackle it this spring?