Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing .
Monday, May 09, 2011
Obituary.....
Got this from Jim F., who got it from Tommy S. How would I ever keep up with this blog without my grade school classmates??
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I have been mourning the lost of all the things that were once common: sense, courtesy, and decency for several decades and no one seems to care. And I could rant for hours about it but no one would listen -- they'd just call me a crazy old lady that their disdain for living with regard and caring for their fellow man has made me. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteLove this! Just found your blog and enjoying it and the news links.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Peggy
True, common sense has become uncommon.
ReplyDeleteI think this very natural human quality that was once common to all was lost a long time ago. It began with the advent of the industrial revolution and the massification of society. When individuals became subsumed in the "mass" they lost consciousness. Sleepwalkers have no sense.
But hopefully the Internet will eventually de-massify society and wake people up so that they can find themselves again.
M.E. some time ago you wrote a fascinating post about commuters passing by musicians without stopping to listen to the music during rush hour in Grand Central station. Maybe you and your readers will appreciate this essay I just came across about a video display in the World Trade Center just three months before 9/11.
http://www.rochester.edu/in_visible_culture/Issue4-IVC/Bouman.html
Interesting. Now I want to have uncommon sense!
ReplyDeleteThe D.N.
Diana: THANKS for this! When my brain is not so overextended (I just finished @ 6 hours of editing), I'll dive into this. Fascinating topic, especially for those who have dealt with chickens? Personally, I'd love to see videos of chickens, but I'd want to see them in a theater, where I can sit and watch them with full attention. It would be too funny to see them by or in the metro, where we are all on our best poultry-like behavior....*:0)
ReplyDeleteDN: you've always been uncommonly sensible!!
Diana: p.s. it's one of my idiosyncracies, but I have always preferred to sit down and listen to music without doing anything else--that theory got blown to bits during my housewife days--but there it is. I find it annoying to go to the farmers market and be bombarded by musicians, however fine. I wanna look at the veggies!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent rumination on our sorry state of late. Don't you think common sense is hard to maintain when EVERYONE is entitled to his/her own opinion--no matter how batty?
ReplyDeleteNDB: oh, my...another hard question. It's difficult enough to maintain my hatred of the Republican members of Congress (just for a start) and still remember they have rights, too. Even though their time is spent largely working to take OUR rights away.....
ReplyDeleteI've seen this before, and it never loses it's punch. I hope that I have kept my Common Sense when all around me people are losing theirs.
ReplyDelete