OT - Passing of Common Sense

[glampka]

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 Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid 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 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 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; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 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.

[burning2nd]

sounds about right....

[tbittner]

It's a shame, isn't it...

I tell people at work that we need to create a new political party called the Common Sense party. I really believe that there are enough of us that have common sense left, to win elections and make our country great and proud once again.

The politicians seem to have lost touch with reality. A very vocal minority seem to want everything given to them, and to be held blameless for anything/everything, they think they deserve everything and it should be given to them, yet they don't want to work hard and sensibly for it.

I can only imagine what our founders would say if they saw the state of America now.

[kathywithbirds]

Oh I love that!

[BEELZEBOB]

hmmmm. common sense really isnt all that "common"

i like callin it "good sense"

[boozeman]

I have lived long enough to realize that there really isn't anything 'common' about common sense

[BEELZEBOB]

nice, im just as pessimistic as this old fart

[lcstorc]

A lot of it is one of my father's favorite lesson.
"Personal Responsibility" We are responsible for our own actions. If people would just live by that the world would be a much better place.

[sasquatch]

practice practice practice, say "I didnt do it" until its the first response to any spousal inquiry, point at the dog and slink away

[BarbMazz]

Remember this? Still one of my favorites, and so very true. I do try to live this way!

All I Really Need To Know
I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not
at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the
sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:


Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life - learn some and think some
and draw and paint and sing and dance and play
and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup:
The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody
really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even
the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die.
So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books
and the first word you learned - the biggest
word of all - LOOK.


Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any of those items and extrapolate it into
sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your
family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm.
Think what a better world it would be if
all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about
three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with
our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments
had a basic policy to always put thing back where
they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you
are - when you go out into the world, it is best
to hold hands and stick together.



© Robert Fulghum, 1990.

[nikkipigtails]

this is so true...so eloquently put

[rlcline76]

Terry...you can't escape it because you live too close to DC.

Barb, I remember that piece, but I have always lived by the Toddlers' Creed:

Toddler's Creed
by H. Dan Smith, EdD, MFT

If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anybody else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

[BarbMazz]

Originally Posted by rlcline76

Terry...you can't escape it because you live too close to DC.

Barb, I remember that piece, but I have always lived by the Toddlers' Creed:

Toddler's Creed
by H. Dan Smith, EdD, MFT

If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anybody else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

LOL So that's the TODDLER'S creed! Here I always attributed that kind of thing behavior-wise to my DOG's!! LOL Although, I suppose there could be an argument made that Toddlers = Dogs to some degree! The same sort of mind-set, you know?

[rlcline76]

I have often said that my dog is often worse than the kids!

[BarbMazz]

When my kids were little I often said they were just like the dog!