Common Sense is Not So Common

More people than ever are talking about common sense. Many of them have no clue what common sense actually is, and how it can be manipulated.
Common sense is the ability to exhibit prudent judgement. Adults are supposed to possess common sense. It’s gradually learned and developed through the experiences of our lives, combined with how we see the world. The first time I gave any serious thought to the concept of common sense was years ago.
I was selling hurricane protection in St. Petersburg, Florida. My appointment was at the home of a nationally acclaimed nutritionist. Ray was a very smart man! His home was in an older section of St. Pete where the oak trees had grown so huge they blocked out the sky. Beams of sunlight danced on the ground as a gentle breeze rippled the leaves of the trees, allowing the sun to peek through. It was beautiful. I inspected the home and yard for vulnerability in a hurricane and sat with my potential customer to outline my recommendations.
Those trees were my number one concern. In heavy winds, limbs could snap off and take flight. If there were a major rain event coupled with the hurricane, there could be water-logged roots. Entire trees could be blown down. Anything beneath would be crushed!
I’d learned long ago not to open my mouth and blurt out what I thought. First, I needed to have some idea what my customer was thinking. They could have some pre-conceived notion, and take a stance opposed to mine. A disagreement could result. Tough to unravel a mess like that, so I asked a question to learn if my views and his were aligned. “Ray,” I said. “I’m guessing you’ve already given this hurricane preparedness some thought. Am I right?” He nodded. “What would you say is your greatest vulnerability, and what is your home’s greatest strength?”
His answer blew me away. Thank God I listened rather than blurting out my opinions. Ray said, “I’m a little concerned about my windows. Lotta’ glass. Greatest strength? This house was built in the 1920’s. They don’t build ’em now like they did then. And the house is so well protected by all these huge oak trees!” Concerned he could see my shock and disagreement by the look on my face, I stared at my notepad until I recovered. I decided to just touch on the vulnerability of the trees to see if he might be open minded enough to change his position. “So, to paraphrase,” I said. “You are thinking your windows could be a weak point, but you see the trees and age of your house as elements that will keep you safe. I get it. Some people might think the trees could be a source of flying debris.”

“Not these trees!” Ray said, with obvious pride in his voice. “These oaks have been here for a hundred years. A hurricane is just another storm to them.”
As I drove away, having sold nothing, I thought, “How could such a smart man have no common sense?” The topic of common sense filled my mind the entire drive home. Common sense has a lot to do with upbringing. A thousand years before the birth of Christ, people believed the earth was flat. Common sense told them not to travel too far from shore, no matter how powerful their boat. Go too far and you and your boat will fall right off the earth!
It’s an uncomfortable thought, but common sense is not always right!
Common sense is learned, and can be manipulated by how and what you are taught. About the time I learned to talk, somehow mom indoctrinated me. She convinced me cod liver oil tasted great. It worked. I loved it. Mom would scold me when I tried to sneak some of my “cod” behind her back. Common sense would tell most people something that smells so bad must taste disgusting. I was taught differently. The smell of cod liver oil has great appeal to me. It still does. My common sense tells me that smell means one of my favorite tastes is close.
If you taught your child from a very young age to be deathly afraid of drowning, and everyone your child interacts with supports your distorted view, common sense would tell that child to avoid deep water at all costs. They would be deathly afraid of water. Common sense can be taught, and that teaching could be distorted, just like teaching fear of water to a child.
If you were a nation, opposed to the views of western society, and you had no urgency to get immediate results, what might you do to destabilize another nation? You could look for weakness in infrastructure. You could steal technology. But those are short term fixes. What if you were to find a way to direct what is taught to the children? You could indoctrinate them. You could change how they see the world, and change their common sense.
One of the points I made in my article, Pick a Side, was people take on the views and beliefs of those with whom they associate. Who and what you are exposed to will influence your brand of common sense. And your brand of common sense might be opposite of mine!
We all need to pay attention! Common sense is not so common!