Word weary

Lately I see a lot of people using “can not” as two words instead of “cannot”. I have read some grammar sites excusing this and saying it is for emphasis. I think they’re wrong. I know language evolves, but I hate when it evolves due to laziness or mistakes. Another frustrating example is the misuse of the word “troops”. According to most dictionaries, a "troop" is a group of soldiers or a unit of soldiers. “Troops” are several units of soldiers. The American Heritage Dictionary even states specifically that one definition of troop is “at least five Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts under the guidance of an adult leader”. See? Five! (Well, at least when referring to Scouts.) Yet somewhere along the lines American politicians and journalists began to use “troop” to mean “soldier”. For instance: “Three troops were injured in last night’s attack.” Were fifteen soldiers injured or three? When I hear that usage on the news or radio it is as if a herd of elephants is dancing on a Styrofoam. Broadcasters on NPR and The News Hour have even made this mistake recently. On the other hand, perhaps I should save my ire for the foreign policies and political grandstanding that are keeping us in this war rather than the language used to describe it.

Edited to add: OK, I suppose there are rare and awkward instances of "can not" being correct. ("We just don't have enough money to go out to dinner this weekend." " Well, we can NOT go out to dinner this weekend.") Correct but awkward. I still say stick with cannot.