Why Write? Why Not Just Type?

Bill Keane’s Family Circus cartoon today brings up something people have been talking about lately – handwriting.

Given a choice, I think I’d rather type my words than handwrite them. My elementary school teachers used to love my handwriting, but as the years progressed, it got worse and worse. Actually, that didn’t happen until I was well into my 30s.

My signature was very legible until I had to sign 1,000 certificates of appreciation. From then on, my handwriting went to hell in a hand basket. Today, if someone else had to read my writing, they’d fail miserably. Unless I print. I must say my printing is okay.

Still, given a choice, being a former journalist and writer who has used everything from manual typewriters to computers to personal data assistants to mobile phones, I’d rather type.

People are even debating over whether or not schools should continue to teach cursive writing – you know, script … letters that connect with each other. But that argument becomes moot if handwriting itself were eliminated all together.

Nonetheless, I say … continue teaching handwriting. Who knows when a disaster will strike and there will be no electricity or even batteries around to power electronics. Speed writing will once again be relegated to manual typewriters … that is, until they all break down and run out of ribbons because in an electricity-dependent world, nobody will be able to make them.

Handwriting is a connection to our heritage. It’s elegant, it’s cheap, and it’s dependable.

Write on!