Simplified Spelling Society

After first seeing the story about the Simplified Spelling Society on this morning's news I was ready to rant on them big-time. In my quick-to-judge manner I assumed they were some new-fangled organization dedicated to aiding the lazy, contributing to the dumbing down of America. I have long said, somewhat overdramatically, that we, as a society, will be doomed by the shorthand and emoticons used in e-mail, text and instant messages. Capital letters, puncuation and using complete words seems only vaguely required. I remain convinced that in the near future teenagers won't be able to communicate in complete sentences. So when I heard about a group wanting to overhaul the English language so that all words were spelled phonetically I was dubious of their motives. I understand English is filled with silly rules and seemingly arbitrary exceptions to those rules. But I think that is part of the beauty of the language. God forbid we had to use our brains a little to learn it.

My anger was tempered a bit when I actually went to the group's website. The society was actually formed in 1908 (Don't ask me why Channel 47 was talking about it this morning; though I suppose relevance has rarely been Channel 47's strong suit. [Except for Rob O. No offense meant to you, my friend.]). The website mentions their aims of making spelling easier so that kids can use brain power to learn other stuff. They also explain why certain words are spelled certain ways (the printing press, the Norman Conquest of 1066, the Renaissance, blah, blah, blah.) The website is mildly interesting and I see where they are coming from, but to me their arguments just aren't compelling enough to make wholesale changes. I'd love to know what the rest of you think. Is this concept ridiculous or a worthy cause?