science and sense

 "Common sense is sound, practical judgement concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge in a manner that is shared by (i.e., "common to") nearly all people." 

That is what the dictionary has to say about that. It's something I say a lot too, use common sense. It seems to me the new educational agenda is the removal of common sense. Sound, practical judgement. Wait a minute, don't judge. Sound? I was born a male but feel like I was given the wrong assignment, I can change that. Is that a practical solution to a biological fact. That's something common to all people? Well according to the latest data about 1.03% of people perceive that. I'm no mathematician but doesn't that mean 98.9% of the people see it otherwise? Isn't the common perception if you are born a male, you are a male. And that is just one example of the loss of common sense in today's world. 

 Thomas Paine famously authored a pamphlet called Common Sense in 1775/1776. It was advocating for separation from England. His arguments were based on common sense. One line from that pamphlet implores the people. "for Gods sake, let us come to a final separation." I understand how he felt. For God's sake let's return to using common sense! When crimes are committed, they are committed by criminals. It isn't the guns, poverty, racism, lack of education or any of that stuff. It is because those individuals made a choice, they choose to break the law. 

 The method/instrument they chose isn't the problem, the problem is they made the choice. There is never a legal right to break the law. You may break a law for your own moral reasons, reasons that may indeed be just, but it remains illegal to break the law. Laws are made for the general safety and benefit of a society to protect citizens from wrongdoing. Those laws apply to everyone but are based on the majority, on a commonality of purpose. Common sense should tell you that. The law isn't concerned with your feelings. Our laws are not based in a written moral standard. 

 That is the very reason we didn't establish a "state" church. If we had then all the things in the Bible that are "bad" would be punishable by law. It is a struggle still to separate the moral from the legal. The 13th, 14th and !5th amendments, commonly called the reconstruction amendments are an example of that. So is the civil rights act of 1964. Roe V Wade was a legal battle about just that as well. It was overturned on common sense. You are killing a child! But that debate still rages on, although it is indeed a moral one. There is much legislation proposed today involving the "moral" choice. What remains however, is common sense. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" is a Biblical passage but it is basically common sense. Don't need instruction from a God of any kind to understand that. 

 Common sense should tell you that if you are deeply in debt, you don't have money to give away. Common sense tells you to take care of your family before taking care of anyone else. Common sense tells you to stop the bleeding! Why do you close the door? Common sense tells you it is to keep others out, not to keep you in. Leave the refrigerator door open and the refrigerator will soon be empty, or the food spoiled.  That applies to a nation as well. Close the door! It's common sense. 

 If you have a lick of common sense, you already know all of this. People will not like me because, (fill in the blank) and I can't make that against the law. The best I can do is punish those that break the law. Law can't be based on a feeling! I feel like you are discriminating against me, that you don't like me. that you feel I'm different or dangerous. You have to prove that and how do you prove a feeling? Even when others agree with you, that isn't proof. So, we use common sense. In legal terms, the majority. When the majority agree, laws get changed. 

 It's that or we simply abandon common sense. Some psychologists today proclaim that common sense should be abandoned in favor of science. That science is the only truth. The premise being reality and truth are not the same thing. I strongly disagree with that regardless of the number of degrees that person may hold. Common sense will rule the day. Science may be able to explain it, at least the mechanism that creates the action, but common sense should tell you if you attack me, I will defend myself. In short, be careful about what you say and do. That's common sense, not science. It's a practical judgement concerning everyday life. It is shared by everyone even when some try to avoid it. How many truly "turn the other cheek" when attacked?