¡¿Punctuation?!

Punctuation, like the ornaments that adorn a Christmas tree the furniture that compliments a spacey room, is equally, if not more important than the writing itself. However, the manner in which punctuation is used should not be defined as a conventional set of rules; it should be up to the writer's judgment alone to employ punctuation in a way that most effectively expresses his/her ideas.

Just as Lewis Thomas states in his "Notes on Punctuation", "there are no precise rules about punctuation." He then proceeds to provide a careful (and deeply opinionated) analysis of each mark of punctuation: "The commas are the most useful...colons are a lot less attractive...exclamation points are the most irritating of all..." This is a prime example of the distinct uniqueness of punctuation for each individual. Just like Thomas, each of us has his/her own preferences and attitudes towards punctuation, and should apply it according to those preferences. Punctuation is also an element of great variety that is subject to change over time. As language and style of writing changes, punctuation evolves as well to reflect the change in culture. While forms of punctuation such as the pilcrow and the snark were at one time common grammatical markings, they have now fallen out of use - "punctuation comes and goes" (Punctuation, Social Media, and Evolving Rules of Communication). The reality is that there is no standard or traditional form of punctuation.

Of course, certain grammar rules must to be applied in order to ensure clarity and proper organization of thoughts. I'm sure JFK and Stalin are extremely thankful to the Oxford comma for preserving their non-stripper identity. In such situations, punctuation marks such as commas are instrumental in expressing a certain meaning, regardless of who is using it and the time period.

On the other hand, if punctuation is not necessary in order to convey meaning, adhering to a strict set of grammar rules can be extremely excessive and can greatly hinder the flow of a sentence. Consider this Facebook message from a kind and sweet human who shall remain unnamed.

Is it just me, or do those commas really have no business in this sentence? Obviously, removing them will not change the fact that I look pretty cute. In this case, the grammatically "correct" use of commas is like "tightening the leash" (Austen) and in all honesty should be "used sparingly" (Thomas).