You Know What I Have a Bad Habit of?

You know what I have a bad habit of? Ending a sentence with a preposition.

But you know what, I don't even think that's a bad habit, really! It's not like comma splices. Or starting a sentence with a conjunction. In the scheme of sins, I think ending a sentence with a preposition can be an elegant stylistic choice.

So there.

I mean, it's really all about how you use it. Grammar's a tool, not a rule. Perfect example, there's no grammatical "rule" against putting literally every other word of a sentence into italics, is there? No! Yet think for a second how intrusive that would be! What an obstacle that would be, to conveying nuance and meaning. It goes to show two things: one, as I've said, it's less about rules than about how you use the tools. The second thing is: we need to get real. It's clear grammar alone is impotent. It can't get the job done; it can't prevent these rampant abuses of italics that we see today, especially in certain ethnic communities.

Grammar's not enough. It's time to introduce legislation. An unpopular stance I know, but there it is. I said it. Bold words, yes. But as I've said before, bold words call for bold times.