We Are Losing Our Z

I am seeing it in more words every day, it seems. The Z in the English language is being replaced with S.

First, I noticed it in the word 'organization', now spelled 'organisation' in all the places I see it (except in the Dictionary, where it's still 'organization').

Then 'civilization', now spelled 'civilisation' (except in the dictionary).

I noticed it with another word a few weeks ago but cannot remember the word now, just that I saw it with S instead of Z.

Tonight I saw the word 'characterized' spelled as 'characterised'.

Okay, now I know that spelling these words with an S instead of a Z is the way it is done in the UK. And the dictionary shows that as the alternate spelling for the UK. However, I keep seeing it done by U.S. Americans now.

If this trend keeps up the English language will have one less letter (Z) in the alphabet.

Let's keep our Zs! Stand up for what's right and proper!

Changed Spelling

I've been wondering recently when the spelling of the word organization got changed to organisation?

According to the dictionary, and my almost faultless spelling ability, it is organization. But recently I have found it spelled organisation everywhere I see it. I thought maybe it was the British way of spelling it but I checked and found that Americans are misspelling it, too.

It can't be typos because it is too pervasive and consistent, and is found in documents that should have been spell-checked.