The Decline of Common Sense

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It’s not surprising that some of us find it so tough to make sense of our lives these days. Look at the world we live in. It’s an Alice-in-Wonderland place that defies everyday reason.

Consider:

—-Drivers operate cars and trucks, lethal weapons all, while talking on cell phones or texting. And in many places, all this is legal. A recent New York Times article says the people who do this “ . . . argue that the convenience of constant contact—and the chance to tick off items from an endless to-do list while driving—far outweigh what they think are slim chances that it could lead to a wreck.” Tell that to the families who have lost loved ones as a result of such hubris.

—-Our government (we, the taxpayers) bailed out companies deemed “too big to fail” and run by executives whose annual compensation is stratospheric while millions of the taxpayers who provided this largesse lost jobs, homes, and self-respect. Now, we hear the big-time bonuses are back.

—-So-called “town hall meetings” devolve into shouting matches and turn what should have served as rational consideration of solutions to our health insurance problem into a primal stew of misinformation and fear.

—-As a nation, we continue our love affair with guns and thereby facilitate the murder of thousands each year. This, because some believe the Constitution guarantees the right to gun ownership. I believe the Constitution guarantees only that states have a right to arm their militias, known in this day and age as the National Guard. Read the second amendment. Written at a time when soldiers were expected to report for duty with their own weapons (the ones they used to protect livestock from predators or defend themselves from armed attack by outlaws on the frontier), the amendment says:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. I doubt our founders envisioned urbanites showing up at crowded rallies with assault rifles in tow.

I’ve come to believe that staying sane requires that we all become more involved in and informed about the issues we face as a nation. We may feel powerless, but we’re truly powerless only if we fail to participate. What issues would motivate you to get involved?