Why common sense is essential
You have probably heard the phrase ‘return to common sense’ being thrown around a lot lately. It might be political or social but if you do a quick Google trend analysis, common sense is trending. What exactly does it mean to have common sense and why would people want to return to it? Did we lose it and if so, how? The definition is not much help: good sense and sound judgment in practical matters. Another definition is: the ability to think and behave in a reasonable way and to make good decisions. What exactly is reasonable and what constitutes good? They seem kind of arbitrary and subjective. Do you really know what common sense is apparently everyone is supposed to have it!
Here at the Uncommon Sense School, we are big supporters of common sense. Benjamin Franklin once said, “The problem with common sense is that it is not all that common.” And we have found him to be 100% correct. If you go back in time, you will see the definition of common sense has changed. Back in Mr. Franklin’s time, common sense was more pointed. It described ideas or facts that were universal to all. Things every human would know. Don’t grab the burning log kind of things. Simple. Obvious. Duh. Of course, kinds of things. They were universal in that everyone expected everyone else to know. Society just assumed everyone knew these things. And for all intents and purposes, maybe they should have. Old Ben knew better. Common sense is not something everyone does know, it’s something everyone should know. This was a problem because many people didn’t know these things while living in a world where everyone expected them to. This led to miscommunication and problems. Over the years, editors have refined the definition of common sense to make it less universal and more general, to better reflect the idea that common sense really isn’t all that common.
The common part of common sense assumed a similar upbringing and set of circumstances. Imagine a group of kids growing up in a neighborhood, going to school together, and experiencing a series of similar things. For example, never put your hand through the fence of old man Miller because his dog will bite you. Everyone knows this in the neighborhood so nobody does it. But, if someone comes into town that is new, they might try and pet the dog. All the kids would laugh at them. Why? Not because they want the new person hurt but because to all of them, it’s common sense to not pet old man Miller’s dog. The problem with common sense is it assumes (perceived truth without proof) that everyone has had the same ‘common’ experience. And in today’s world, that’s not true anymore. Rarely does a group of people coexist long enough and in isolation so as to develop commonality in thought and expectation. With the internet and the ability to travel anywhere in the world, common experiences are far less, well, common.
Why are we such big supporters of common sense then? Because it prevents everyone from getting their hand bit by old man Miller’s dog. When people say they want a return to common sense, they mean they want a return to truths that everyone knows. They want to return to a time (even if it’s only in their head) where they could live around people who were all basically on the same page about simple “universal” things. Much like the rules of the road when driving. Everyone, for the most part, follows these rules so you can relatively trust the car next to you or in front of you is going to behave in some sort of predictable manner. If not, the whole driving thing falls apart and accidents and deaths are now the new norm. And it does not matter who is in those other cars, their race, gender, political affiliation, or virtually anything. All can travel our roads in relative peace if most of us are on the same page about what is expected when driving a car. People want that same feeling for their lives, not just their driving. And yes, there are a few outliers who want a return to their ‘common’ just like there are a few drivers who follow their own rules. But overall, when the majority is on the same page, you can feel comfortable driving home at night.
Why is common sense essential? As stated above, we cannot have a community without it. The fundamental tenets of life, the order in law and order, require ‘universal’ acceptance of certain ideas, certain truths we can all get behind. This is the only way we can coexist. Anarchy is not sustainable. Everyone loses. Imagine common sense as a funnel, with the most basic truths being the widest part, representing the largest group of people. As we descend this funnel, the number of people represented gets smaller and smaller as ideas that would be common to them become more and more unique. Eventually, you get to our little hypothetical neighborhood, where their common sense is very specific to that neighborhood and those kids growing up together. The beauty of all of this is each of you is free to choose how much commonality you want in your life. Some are totally comfortable with the broadest of general truths whereas others want to live in that specific neighborhood their whole life. We should all be free to choose our own comfort zone and not judge someone for their choice. But some truths should be universal.
The difficulty we face with discussions of common sense is most people think the only way to obtain common sense is to live it. We, at the school, politely disagree. We think it is time to stop assuming everyone has common sense and instead make sure they have it. At least on the largest funnel part. These general truths can be taught and should be. Just like the general rules of the road that everyone driving must know. And we might go so far as to require people to demonstrate general competence and understanding of those ideas. The community would be better as a whole just like the driving experience is better as a whole. That is our goal and our mission statement. To teach common sense. To make sure that every adult knows basic truths we all must endure as part of our lives. No more assumptions. These truths are too important and too essential to the success of every adult living in the world at this time. And our hope is, that by introducing these general truths, each person will become more aware of their own ‘sense’ and just how common it is. To make them aware of where they are most comfortable in the common sense funnel.
Let’s change common sense from everyone should know to everyone does know. This way, armed with knowledge and a general feeling of being on the same page as those around you, each of us is free to explore our own lives with confidence.
Isn’t that what each of us wants? More confidence and less ambiguity? We sure hope so because we are committed to this task. We hope you will join us. Don’t think you know, ensure you do. Learn common sense and make the uncommon common again.
