Common Sense....
(I received this as an email today, i completely agree with this - tho i did edit out one line i had trouble with - and added a small bit of commentary)
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 tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird catches 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 sticky plaster to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as ... churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.-- (there was also something about the ten commandments here - not really relevant, and i am not quite sure what they mean by criminals being treated better than victims)
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. -- (again, the reference here is unclear, but... sure, why not)
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 -- (that settlement was later overturned, but point taken).
---------
I would venture to add a few items here...
Like, when it was decided that it was better to kill a bunch of people to prevent a bunch of people from getting killed - see the Iraq war (and Hiroshima/Nagasaki, for that matter).
Or, when it was determined that it would be better to let a group 9 judges decide who would be president when it was more than feasible to just recount all the ballots. (happening again in Mexico as we speak).
Or how about when the powers that be decided the best way to save the country money was to give huge no-bid contracts to ineffective corporations, to rebuild (trying not to laugh here... or am i fighting back tears?) Iraq and, coincidentally (?) New Orleans, where 3 years later in Iraq 90% of the infrastructure is still out of service, especially the hospitals, schools, public water supplies... but you can bet those oil rigs are pumping at near full capacity! And in New Orleans, a year later, where today Bush declared that the rebuilding was just getting started! Um.... so what you been doing the past year?
This ended with some cutesie babble, which i cut out... but this, as a whole, speaks volumes about the direction this country is headed.
Oh, alright, here it is... (ugh)
_____
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.
(I received this as an email today, i completely agree with this - tho i did edit out one line i had trouble with - and added a small bit of commentary)
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 tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird catches 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 sticky plaster to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as ... churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.-- (there was also something about the ten commandments here - not really relevant, and i am not quite sure what they mean by criminals being treated better than victims)
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. -- (again, the reference here is unclear, but... sure, why not)
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 -- (that settlement was later overturned, but point taken).
---------
I would venture to add a few items here...
Like, when it was decided that it was better to kill a bunch of people to prevent a bunch of people from getting killed - see the Iraq war (and Hiroshima/Nagasaki, for that matter).
Or, when it was determined that it would be better to let a group 9 judges decide who would be president when it was more than feasible to just recount all the ballots. (happening again in Mexico as we speak).
Or how about when the powers that be decided the best way to save the country money was to give huge no-bid contracts to ineffective corporations, to rebuild (trying not to laugh here... or am i fighting back tears?) Iraq and, coincidentally (?) New Orleans, where 3 years later in Iraq 90% of the infrastructure is still out of service, especially the hospitals, schools, public water supplies... but you can bet those oil rigs are pumping at near full capacity! And in New Orleans, a year later, where today Bush declared that the rebuilding was just getting started! Um.... so what you been doing the past year?
This ended with some cutesie babble, which i cut out... but this, as a whole, speaks volumes about the direction this country is headed.
Oh, alright, here it is... (ugh)
_____
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.
posted by Apuuli at 8:10 PM
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