In Defense of Capitalizing Letters

There is a new disease in the air. It’s becoming pervasive .. slowly and yet steadily. Like a sly virus it jumps at you out of nowhere, when you’re least prepared to take it on. You see it, reluctantly embrace and absorb it and then wonder — why?

I am talking about the new trend of ditching the capital letter in our writings. like this. and like this. imagine … in fact, just see how this looks when i write like this. that is what i am talking about.

The innocuous capital letter feels dejected. What did I do wrong, it asks. What unforgivable sin did I commit, it laments. I was here to help you read better, it says. because when someone writes like this, like how I deliberately didn’t capitalize the ‘b’, it feels the words are part of a long train with endless carriages that won’t stop. i have to work harder to spot the pauses and the ahems and the ahas.

Language evolves. We don’t say where art thou anymore. Our children are already slaying and vibe checking and skibidying and we have zero idea what all that is but we have no choice but to accept this evolution no matter how much it hurts.

But this isn’t about language. It’s about the syntax. It’s the arrangement of words and phrases that give structure to sentences, with the goal of better legibility. And that’s my pet peeve with this new fashion of not capitalizing the right letters. It’s in direct contrast with that goal. It just makes your supposedly great writing harder to read.

If there is one irrefutable truth, it is this — humans have always accepted and adopted convenience. The progression of science and tech always points to the direction of convenience. And so does the progression of language. Imagine if Shakespeare were alive today. Initially he would balk at the contorted English we use but soon he’d start loving it. “So much easy to say!”, he’d exclaim.

So tell me, how does ditching the capitalization make writing convenient? You are using keyboards, not typewriters. You don’t have to do anything, your computer or phone will capitalize the first letters of sentences automatically for you.

Why might we change this simple setting then? What exactly has gotten into us? What am I missing here?

I don’t know about you but I have decided to valiantly refuse to toe this new line. I will continue to give the capital letter the respect it deserves. No woke argument (I won’t be surprised if there exists one) can change my mind. Call me an obstinate old punk but I have put my foot down on this.

Long live capitalization of letters that deserve to stand out.

Long live readability.