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The Death of Common Sense
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- Written by Robert Larson
Today we mourn the passing of an old friend, by the name of Common Sense. Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States during the beginning of the new millennium.
No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to serve in schools, in hospitals, in homes and in factories helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense.
He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn’t always fair:
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and its okay to come in second.
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including body piercing, whole language, and “new math.”
But his health declined when he became infected with the “If-it-only-helps-one-person-it’s-worth-it” virus. In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned but overbearing regulations.
He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers.
His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parent when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Common Sense finally lost his will to live as the criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports and, greedy CEOs and Internet hucksters alike bilked this country out of it’s retirement savings.
Finally, when a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot and was awarded a huge settlement, and just recently a man sued the fast food chains he ate there regularly and didn’t know the food wasn’t good for him, Common Sense threw in the towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations such as those for low flow toilets, rocking chairs and stepladders.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights, and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was still with us.
As the Editorial Director of DDIN International, I cannot take credit for this missive. This is one of those things that travel’s along the Internet being passed from person to person. Each person reads it, understands the words, but in the end, feels that they are helpless to do anything about it. And that is so sad.
I can only hope that Common Sense is still alive within you…. And that at some point, it will re-emerge in all of us.