“Common sense is not so common”

Voltaire

The Day Common Sense Died

by Mark Karapetyan

One day, Common Sense tragically, but expectedly died. At the time of his death, he was alone, abandoned, and had no one around to console him. A few short moments after his death, Common Sense was approached by one of his old pals, Courage, who joyfully greeted him.“Welcome, dear friend, we have been expecting you.”

“Why were you expecting me? Who are you? And where am I?” Common Sense nervously asked.

“It is alright, do not worry friend, you are safe here. My name is Courage. We are glad to have you at the Cave,” Courage responded. “Here, come this way, meet the rest of us,” he exulted…

“Hello, allow me to introduce myself. I am Truth. You are DEAD, just like the rest of us,” Truth exclaimed.

“DEAD !!! WHAT?” Common Sense screamed!

“Please, forgive our unvarnished and blunt friend. Good day sir, my name is Respect.” Respect apologized.

Puzzled and confused, Common Sense answered: “I cannot believe that I am dead. I thought I would be on earth forever.”

“Forever? With humans? Ha ha ha ha” Truth loudly mocked.

“Are all of you dead as well?” Common Sense inquired.

“Yes. We have all died many years ago. Soon, great friends such as Love, Hope, Loyalty, Compassion, and many, many more will also join us here.” Courage lamented.

“I do not understand. What happened? Why are we all dead?” Common Sense earnestly questioned.

Common Sense’s question was met by a deafening silence from everyone. Moments later, Truth slowly approached Common Sense and explained: “We are all dead because humans decided that we are no longer necessary in their lives. First, they questioned our existence, then they tolerated it, but today they absolutely deny it!

The entire foundation of their society is based on the illusion that there is no truth except for their truth. Sadly, we are as useful as Polaroid cameras to them. Look at their lives and the messes they are in. Every nation is morally corrupt and financially broke. They absolutely deny all absolutes and live their lives as such. Why don’t they build the foundations of their houses based on what they believe about absolutes? These people are apathetic, dispassionate and easily tricked. Contrary to common belief, when their politicians and leaders open their mouths, it is not because they wish to eat. In fact, with the amount of money they steal from their own citizens and others, these politicians are never hungry. When they open their mouths, it is to utter nothing but lies, and they do it boldly, with wicked grins on their faces. They lie so often and deceive so many that they repeatedly lie about lying and then forget what they lied about, so they end up believing their own lies. Do you know what breaks my heart more than anything else friends? It is the fact that the people of earth lack Common Sense to see these repulsive, evil, snakes for who they really are. I have never understood how people can be stupid enough to believe these politicians who lie to them again and again, year after year, and promise them the moon but keep not one promise once elected. Now, I do understand. People do not know whether or not politicians are lying to them because they do not believe that Truth exists. If they do not believe in Truth, they cannot tell whether what they hear is true or not, so they believe the lies. Common Sense is a virtue that the world leaders and politicians lack. Brain-dead politicians are in office because brain-dead voters, who also lack Common Sense, vote for them.”

Common Sense walked to the end of the room, sat down by the fireplace, and stressed. “Do not be alarmed. These days, Christians also lack Common Sense.”

“That is not very nice; Christians are good people.” Respect hummed.

“Let him speak his mind,” Truth opined.

Common Sense jumped to his feet and raged: “The Christians I speak of, lack Common Sense because they claim to know God, but are in reality, far from Him. They drive to their Sunday services in luxurious, classy vehicles (that are usually rentals), wearing outrageously overpriced, foreign-made, colorful, clothing. They exalt God, honor Jesus, and thank the Holy Spirit, then leave church, go to the voting booths and vote for corrupt politicians who support same-sex marriage, abortion, and legalizing illegal, dangerous drugs. Ironically, years later, their own children get tangled up in the webs of aborting babies and going to jail for using illegal drugs. So what do these Christians do? They return to church, exalt God, honor Jesus, but this time they ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Then, they leave church, go to the voting booths, and AGAIN vote for candidates who not only defy God’s commands but also destroy the lives of their children with the laws they pass. These fools call themselves Christians! Hypocrites! Foolish and thick-headed, lip servers.”

“True, but a little harsh.” Respect interrupted.

“Don’t you get it friend? What’s the matter with you?” Courage exploded. “Look where your attitude has gotten you. You are dead.”

“So are you,” Truth reminded!

“YES I AM,” Courage spat. “But I am dead despite my will. I was once the reason humans became heroes. Today, there are no heroes, because cowardice is widespread. Humans have become ultrasensitive and are easily hurt because their ethical foundations are brittle. People are no longer free to express their thoughts and opinions for fear of offending others. The phenomenon of tolerance and political correctness is a poison that is eating away the human civilization. Everything offends them very easily, every little thing hurts their feelings. This new generation is very thin-skinned. They are easily hurt by mere words and simple actions. They have safe-spaces and louder megaphones with which to inform everyone that they are offended. They advocate tolerance, equality, and respect, and REQUIRE the same from you. The moment you disagree with them, they label you as an intolerant, disrespectful, bigot. If they disagree with you, however, they are exercising free speech. People today are timid and weak. The men, have become softer and more delicate than flowers. They are a bunch of emasculated wimps who can’t stand up to their own shadows! Some of these men are the types of fathers who are heroes to strangers and strangers to their own families. The women, are married to their closets and engaged to their wardrobes. They spend hours, days, and sometimes weeks planning ahead what they will wear and how they will look, while they don’t spend a fraction of that time or effort in their broken relationships with others. In essence, the people as a whole have become a spineless, feckless generation that lacks the basics of Common Sense.”

“I am not certain when Common Sense became a commodity in the world; but, there is a lack of critical thinking,” Respect yelled.

“They have become an idiocrasy,” Common Sense concurred. “The stupid are breeding at an alarming rate. Their lives are full of contradictions, and they don’t even know it, because they can no longer use their brains to think. They erect signs on roads and on highways that read ‘ignore all signs.’ They bend over backwards to save the environment with the hope of making the world a better place to live for their children, but then support abortion and killing the innocent unborn. They stand for and support saving dolphins and other sea creatures, but then they are the first to eat whales. They want to save the planet and the polar bears by reducing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere, so they travel to their meetings on 50-seater private jets that burn 400 gallons of fuel per hour to discuss energy conservation. They want us to help save the world and do our part by not consuming too much electricity, yet they live in massive houses with several, large, air-conditioned rooms, that are unoccupied. Every year, they celebrate women’s beauty pageants and crown a winner as Ms. Universe. Why don’t they bring these same women back and have them compete again at the age of 60? Moreover, why don’t they have competitions for the ‘most beautiful heart’ as opposed to the most beautiful face, even if it is only once every ten years? To live their lives, these precious jewels actually need instructions on how to follow instructions. They need to be cautioned that hot water is hot, and frozen ice is cold! Toothpaste is not to be used as cream cheese, and cream cheese is not to be used as shampoo. Razors can cut and knives are sharp. They have to be warned not to use matches in bed and not to use hair dryers while sleeping ! When they fly mid-air, they are cautioned that airplane doors should remain closed at all times and should not be used to let fresh air in. Let me tell you about the students. They can barely put two sentences together. They are so bad, that their professors cannot even grade them. They are clueless on all matters. They think that ‘Hiroshima’ is a kind of sushi, and that the Cold War was fought in the winter. They criticize books they have never read, ridicule ideas they oppose, oppose views they have never listened to, vilify people they do not know, and discredit evidence before they have even verified it. People, in general, live in a day of plaguing confusion. They have more hospitals, but less health. They have more wealth, but less generosity. They have more food to eat, but fewer people are full. They have bigger houses, but smaller homes. They have more freedom, but are less happy. They have more choices, but are less decisive. They have more education, but less common sense. They have more knowledge, but less wisdom. They have more experiences, but less sound judgment. They have more of everything, but complain about everything. They greet others from across the globe via the net, but fail to say hello to the old neighbor next door. They promote love on a social level, but hate each other on an individual level. They have more time, but achieve less. They preach tolerance, yet they attack each other for their beliefs. Let me tell you all about their children, the apples of their eyes ! The children do not know how to be children anymore. They don’t know how to play like normal kids did for thousands of years. They look at sticks, rocks, mud, and trees as foreign and odd objects. They fear them because they don‘t know what to do with them. The only way they know how to play is when they are actually hypnotized by their electronic devices twenty-four hours a day. Without these devices, the children go into panic mode and mentally shut down. They are brainwashed from a young age to believe that all of them are special. The children are taught from a young age that they are winners even if they lose. There are no losers anymore; everyone is a winner even if he or she comes in 17th place, no matter what the game, sport, or competition. The parents label the losing children as ‘the last winners.’ The children grow up believing that they are winners no matter what, until they discover the obvious truth that in order for them to compete in life, they first must fail, suffer, and struggle before they can succeed. That’s when harsh reality hits them in the face and shakes them to the core. The parents of these children cannot understand why their grown children cannot hold a job and be independent, but fail to remember that back in school; their young children were always on honor rolls because ‘every child was special’. There were no average, or below average children; all of them were ‘equally different’. The children didn’t need to study hard to be on the honor rolls, all they had to do was exist as a blub of protoplasm and breathe in the classroom! Humanity, over time, has forgotten its true identity by rejecting God, the source of wisdom and reason. By rejecting Him, they rejected all absolutes, including morality, wisdom, and reason. Everything became relative and subjective, thus the chaos in their lives today. By rejecting God and His principles, they unknowingly rejected wisdom and reason. Professing to be wise, they became fools, thus, the lack of common sense in the world today. Do you know what friends? I would bet that if Socrates or Aristotle, or any of the wise intellectuals of the past were to somehow suddenly appear on earth today, they would have a mental breakdown and be absolutely baffled by the stupidity of the 21st century inhabitants.”

“Oh wait, someone is at the door,” Courage interrupted. “We have a new arrival, it is our beloved friend Honesty!!! Let’s go greet him.”

“You even called me stupid in your verse, and I’m almost agreeing, for where stupidity is involved, you are quite an expert, friend.”

Franz Grillparzer