Cullen Murphy writes about standards in Setting the Bar.
Some standards aren’t worthy of the name in the first place, and in any event standards will always be in flux. But surely there are a handful on which we might all agree to hold the line—this far and no further, unto the end of days. To start this long-overdue public conversation, I’ll propose ten.
I. “EMPLOYEES MUST WASH HANDS BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK” (“Los empleados deben lavarse las manos antes de regresar al trabajo”).
II. “Women and children first” (except maybe Ann Coulter).
III. Notoriety does not denote “famousness,” enormity does not denote “bigness,” and religiosity does not denote “religiousness.”
IV. “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2 3/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.” — Official rules, Major League Baseball
V. “Honey, you look great!” (still the only correct answer).
VI. “Parents should never issue birth announcements or write letters of thanks that pretend to be coming directly from the baby.” — Miss Manners
VII. “First, do no harm.” — Hippocrates
VIII. The federal adulteration limits for cocoa powder (“75 or more insect fragments per 50 grams”) and chocolate (“60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams”).
IX. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” — The Golden Rule (worth a try?)
And finally,
X. Anything that does “little more for humanity than keep the publishing world afloat” deserves an award.