The Leap of Common Sense

Watch any major news organization, read any newspaper today and it won't be long until you come across a story that will leave you asking, "What has happened to common sense?" It appears that people today, no matter what their sex, race, religion, or income, the lack of common sense is spreading throughout society faster than a wildfire in a forest.

For example, just look at Hollywood. A place that initially was called the place where dreams were made, it has since become a place where common sense does not exist and probably wouldn't go near the place with a ten-foot pole. Sure, we all enjoy watching movies, escaping from reality, if only fore a few hours. But where we return to reality after the end of the movie, it appears that some actors have more difficulty separating the two. Referring to the opening sentence, watch any television program, viral video, the Internet, etc., and you will see where common sense does not exist in Hollywood. When actors are caught breaking the law, or in other compromising situations, common sense obviously does not play a role in the outcome. Actors such as Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, once having promising careers, only to see it fall into a million pieces because of their lack of good ol reliable common sense when it came to making decisions regarding their public or private lives.

Amazing how even in their lowest depths these actors (and many more) are still seen as glamourous by many in the public (hence, another example of lack of common sense).

But it's not just in the entertainment industry that common sense has disappeared, look at the current political system. With the current state of our economy, the continuation of the wars overseas, common sense hasn't been in Washington since the founding our our nation. Even with the upcoming election, with all the jabs being tossed back and forth between the candidates, respect and common sense has bascially been kicked out the window. There are no quiet debates anymore, just loud, obnoxious, name-calling, shouting matches. When we as voters are swimming through all the muck the candidates are spewing, we tend to lose our focus on the ideal qualities we are looking for, and vote for the sake of voting.

A candidate should not only be qualified intellectually, but also common sense qualified, as anyone who deals with a high-powered and high-presssured position, a candidate should rely on common sense in order to deal with any type of crisis whenever it occurs. After all, they would expect the same from others around them or find people who meet such criteria.

Common sense has also become extinct in the lives of the youth of today. It's almost as if they have no sense of direction or guidance. Look around---------with the latest technology and all the gadgets to choose from, it's really a wonder any of the youth even know their own names. Besides, many of the parents of these youths have little to or less, common sense than their own children.

Generations are going to have their differences, of course, but as one generation grows older, one would think that the older one would lead the younger one by example, but, as the saying goes, "My, how the times are a-changing."