Sentence Fragments and Run-on sentences

[MMI]

Nothing wrong with being the best, nor with searching it out. There's nothing wrong with avoiding the worst, either.

But "best" is not synonymous with "elite". "Select" or even "elect" are closer in meaning. Chosen because better, perhaps, but possibly chosen for other reasons too. Consider Wall Street, for example, where wealth and contacts speak louder than mere talent. Are those who ran Lehman Bros or AIG the best? They are among the elite. Is the Chairman of HBOS so clever now his bank - created by Royal Charter in the 17th Century - is to be absorbed by an English Joint Stock Bank to save it from bankruptcy? No, he's not; but he's among the elite, and will be rewarded for his failure with shares in the English bank and a brand new job into the bargain. In other words, the elite nuture and promote the elite, not the best. If he were a heart surgeon of a similar aptitude, I would not want him to operate on me.

And what about ... ummm ... Geoffrey Archer. He's sold millions of books, so he qualifies as an arbiter of language by your criterion. Yet no-one would call him a skilled wordsmith: common wordmonger would be the best he could hope for. He could never be accepted as a guardian of our language's integrity. If he were a heart surgeon, he would perform one simple type of operation only, with a few minor developments from time to time. He would never improve, but he would always be among the elite.


======================

Ragoczy,

Why let "should of" worry you - you know what is meant. I remember back in the sixties, I had a girlfriend who once wrote me a letter: "Dear MMI, I know I should of told you last night, but your dumped ... " The grammar was terrible, but I realised I would have to act quickly if I wanted my Sgt Pepper album back.

======================


I feel this debate/argument has run its course, and it's surprising how a simple proposition raised so much ire. Frankly, it proved nothing - Clevernick, I admit you are right, but you must grant my opinions are valid too.