In 2016, under a similar title, this column urged the Supreme Court of New Jersey to require all bar candidates to demonstrate some mastery of English. The subtitle was "Grammar as a Measure of Competence." At the time, this writer was accused by some of racism and elitism for advancing an agenda to frustrate the efforts of disadvantaged bar applicants and those whose cultural background had not exposed them sufficiently to the King's English. I declined to respond to the criticism, remembering the words of my fraternity brother Rich Walker, who once mused, "How do you tell a circle there is such thing as a sphere?"

For many reasons, written and oral language skills—including the ability to speak formal English—have been in general decline since at least World War II. Apparently, no one cares. Grammar was rarely anyone's favorite subject in school, and in life outside of school its mastery is rarely required. Few modern people are distressed by the downward spiral of grammatical English.