All of the syntaxes you're advocating are every bit as arbitrary as the ones you're against.
Programming is logic largely based around math. Seeing as how we're all educated around with mathematic symbols as children, a language design which reflects what is most familiar will be the easiest to initially understand. Less friction means more productivity.
Thought to be honest I doubt we'll all still be designing applications in text (only) editors, even fancy ones, in the next 10-15 years. Software design is very modular, and even arbitrary logic tools could be better at presenting this data. Simple things like code-completion has gone a long way flatten the learning curve, and that can only get better when visual and audio logic can be manipulated in like-fashion.
