The opening lyrics to the famous song by Lobo begin, “Me and you and a dog named Boo,
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land,” but they are incorrect. The song ends, however, with apt advice -- “We’ve gotta get away and get back on the road again.” Yes, we all need to get back on the road
again and correct a glaring error in our speech and writing. It's not so much a grammar rule as a rule of etiquette, along with an accepted convention of grammar. It's considered polite to put the other person first. (However, grammar does come into play when choosing between "me" and "I" for the subject or objective case in a sentence.) It's not "Me and Joe are late for the meeting." It's "Joe and I are late for the meeting."
As in the
lyrics Lobo sang, “Will power made that old car go,” we, too, need to use some
will power and correct our flagrant mistake.
Ignorance is not an excuse.
Elementary children everywhere are taught this basic rule in schoolrooms across the country. It is not a difficult concept to learn to always put
the other person first. ("He gave the candy to Randy and me," not "He gave the candy to me and Randy.)
Too many parents
seemingly do not encourage children in this day and age to be polite or to use
proper language, and society perpetuates the uneducated, convoluted vernacular as witnessed by numerous television announcers, congressmen, and movie stars all caught on
air saying, “Me and my friend…." In addition, the lyrics to many popular songs contain the same phrase.
Maybe some
of you don’t care how you come across to others in job interviews or in
conversations. I, however, can’t
sit back and take it anymore. When one
of the meteorologists in Columbus said, “Me and my family…” twice in a single
broadcast several months ago, I felt it not only my civic duty to send an
e-mail asking the broadcaster to correct his mistake, but I also felt compelled to continue helping other nincompoops in our country, one nincompoop at a time.
It’s
embarrassing when foreign exchange students arrive in America to study, and
their English language skills are far better than that of most Americans. We look like uneducated dummkopfs with the
brains of potatoes.
Please, if
you’re guilty of saying, “Me and X… “ on an everyday basis, I’m begging
you to correct this fault in your writing. Otherwise, I may have to unleash the Special
Grammar Forces with their dogs named Boo, and their tasers, to end this
repugnant abuse of language.
Kenny
Chesney – you’re up next for tasering with your song, “Me and You.”
