Literacy: Disappearing?

I seem to be living in a place where literacy is disappearing around me. People don't know what word means what, there's no longer such as thing as punctuation or grammar, may I simply ask: What the hell? It's been taught that adults are the ones who are supposed to be superior and 'right', yet I find myself correcting their speech and writing because they don't know the difference between 'except' and 'accept.' Teens and the young can barely write, and we've evolved 'Ghetto Speak' to a point it's overcoming language rather than being it's own dialect. (I live in FL. Commenting on America. I know other places are literate.) Whether or not I have the right definition of 'Literate', I still expect an answer regarding what I've typed here. Do not reply if you aren't going to give me a serious answer, otherwise you will be reported and your comment will be removed.