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 earn) and reliable parenting 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 six-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 they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band-Aid to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant or wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, 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 was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
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10 responses so far ↓
1 cory at agoodhusband (5 comments.) // May 27, 2008 at 8:24 am
a little grumpy this morning, Lin? Common sense isn’t dead yet, I don’t think. ailing, certainly, but not dead. People have been saying this for years, but as long as there are a few people who still live by what’s right, I think we’ll be okay.
2 Lin (793 comments.) // May 27, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Hi Cory, I somehow missed the email saying I had a comment. Oops.
Naw.., I’m not grumpy at all. Just thought I’d pass this along after seeing it somewhere out on the internet.
3 untwisting trade show display design (8 comments.) // May 28, 2008 at 9:08 pm
hi Lin, I found you via RT’s blog. I love the title of this post, and you could have taken the words out of my mouth! At least a few of us must still believe in “if it sounds too good to be true…” I think this whole mortage debacle could be summed up as a lack of common sense (or a lot of wishful thinking) and a lack of responsibility. With regard to your mentioning “life isn’t always fair”, I have a 4 and 6 year old (I see your kids are a bit older), and although I think they have some common sense, I am constantly hearing - “megan got one, why can’t I have one” “jack got to do it, why can I do it”. If I only had a penny for each time I’ve wanted to say “life isn’t fair”, well, I’d have a lot of pennies.
Anyway, I don’t think my writing can quite compare to yours… your post is very well written.
I’m just hoping Mr Sense is just on vacation and is due back soon.
I look forward to reading some more of your posts. Steve
4 50th Birthweek Roundup | Oh My Aching Debts // May 29, 2008 at 4:20 am
[…] Telling It Like It Is has a post that will go down as one of my all time favorites, In Memory of the Sad Passing of Common Sense. […]
5 Lin (793 comments.) // May 29, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hi Untwisting, welcome to Telling It Like It Is. RT does have a great site, doesn’t he?
I do believe that common sense has taken a real “hit” in the last several years, as many people (parents especially) have gotten caught up in the idea that they “owe” their children everything their little hearts desire. So now we’ve got children, teens and even grown adult children with serious cases of Entitlement, and it’s amazing to me how much a problem it really is, and many are now trying to figure out what to do about. That issue really bugs me.
6 untwisting trade show display design (8 comments.) // May 29, 2008 at 10:56 am
hi Lin, thanks for replying to my comment. I think some of the best parenting advice I ever got is that my job is to be my kids’ parent, not necessarily their friend (which is a lot more fun). I agree a lot of kids seem too “entitled” (adults too). That said, I often have to fight the urge to give my kids too much, less they appreciate it less. It’s important for people to “earn” stuff. Steve
7 Lin (793 comments.) // May 29, 2008 at 11:49 am
Untwisting, your comment reminded me of an email I received recently inquiring about doing a guest post here. I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea for the post, since it was encouraging parents to buy a brand new car for their 16 year old as soon as they got their license and various other “entitlement” type things. I thought to myself, Has this person ever read my blog? Those were horrible ideas! Plus she was talking in terms of being your kids friend, as in best buddies, rather than being the parent. Umm, no thanks lady.
8 untwisting trade show display design (8 comments.) // May 29, 2008 at 9:17 pm
hi Lin, I worked at Baskin Robbins and a local movie theatre (it wasn’t so bad - discounted ice cream and free movies) to raise money for my first car, which was of course used. The first dent I put in it (not the car’s first dent though) hurt - hurt a lot - and stayed there for a while because I didn’t have money to fix it. Yes, I’d laugh an a post about buying my teenager a brand new car too. Even if I have the money when my kids are old enough, they’ll be getting a job and learning the value of a dollar.
9 Periapex (9 comments.) // Jun 4, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I remember saying and doing a lot of “nonsense” when I was a kid. I guess that died off before common sense did.
Your post gave me a chuckle
10 Lin (793 comments.) // Jun 4, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Periapex, I thought this in memory of common sense was pretty cute when I first saw it. Thanks!
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