“They are not teaching cursive writing because it is the easiest way to make people a slave is to dumb them down.” — Glenn Beck, political commentator.

Writing that flows evenly across a blank page, referred to as cursive, is a style of handwriting that is personal and unique. It is a style that has dominated commercial and personal recording and verification by signature for centuries. It has survived the invention of printing by Johannes Guttenberg in 1439, and the typewriter by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1867. But now, the cell phone of the present is the biggest challenge. Once a required course in schools, cursive has become a point of controversy with a future in doubt. The emphasis has shifted to keyboard entry and the use of electronic devices, a modification in curriculum that upsets many.

An old saw of partisan politics, borne from a mistrust of government, is that public schools are subverting the foundational values of the nation. Critics point to examples of those who have difficulty signing a document or reading a letter from a grandparent and have not been taught cursive handwriting. A unique signature is synonymous with John Hancock, who, with 55 other men, affirmed support for the Declaration of Independence by acknowledging, “We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

The concern is if the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are not read in the official handwritten form, the intent of the men that drafted them will not be understood, or worse, the content has been intentionally altered. It was a customary practice in colonial times to have the body of official documents conform to the signature to emphasize authenticity. The Declaration of Independence was engrossed by Timothy Matlack, a scribe known for penmanship, in the style of English round hand, called Copperplate.

“So, I look at the parent’s bill of rights — it’s really a good framework, like taking the body of an AK-47 and then we can start mounting new accessories onto it: flashlight, laser pointer, and things like that.” — Jeff Childers, attorney, political commentator.

The debate on cursive has unfortunately been bundled with more emotionally charged issues such as race and sexual orientation into a “parental bill of rights.” Much of the rationale for it is based on interpretation of the history of building the nation and the people who were a part of doing so. To put that into perspective, think of cursive as the Brown Bess musket used in the Revolutionary War that could be fired four times per minute versus the cell phone as an AK-47 with a firing capacity of 600 rounds per minute. The men of 1776 would not have fought the British with long rifles if automatic weapons were available; the Declaration of Independence would have been on a thumb drive.

Progress is a big yellow bus coming down the street, picking us up, bound for a destination for which we are apprehensive. Schools and teachers are there to make us aware of where the bus has been and prepare us for where it is going. Cursive handwriting is fading because people have quit using it. To understand why, the next time you have a complaint with the schools do not use your cell phone, get an unruled piece of paper, a fountain pen, and write it out.

“Education is our only political safety. Outside of this ark all is deluge.” — Horace Mann, 19th century educator.

Tom Brindley grew up in Iowa, and studied journalism and accounting. He is a retired controller from Alpena Community College and has been active in local nonprofit organizations. He can be reached at bindletom@hotmail.com. Read him here the first Thursday of each month.