Tear is both from the eyes and the hands.

I'm torn. I like the idea of a phonetic spelling -- but at the same time, the etymology of a word is then lost. Similar spellings to root words give clues to derivation, use, and history. All of which are important when understanding the full meaning of a word -- something that a simple definition of a word cannot do.

However, the spellings of words can be quite frustrating, necessitating the use of a dictionary or spell check. Yet, we shouldn't maintain the spelling of a word simply because that's the way it has always been spelled. The reason "because we've always done so" or "tradition" is not a good reason to continue doing so.

So I'm torn. (How does THAT spelling reflect that it came from "to tear" ? And no, not the thing that comes from the eye glands.)