Common Sense

Stephen Jay Morris

2/10/2023

©Scientific Morality

You hear this axiom constantly, though it is uttered prosaically. In objective reality, this phrase is used with regard to actions and situations that could be dangerous. You don’t smoke a cigar next to a gas pump. You could blow yourself up, along with anyone and anything nearby. When the weather report says rain, you bring an umbrella, right? Right. Common sense dictates such behaviors. Children need to learn this as part of the simple, golden rules. Sounds innocent enough. Well, not any more.

In America, words get corrupted. So do phrases. Why does that happen? Any type of populism will simplify language so that commoners will get the message. Like the word, “Woke,” for example.

Conservatives have adopted this word to generalize the so-called Left. Recently, a Connecticut woman opened a new coffee shop, which she named “Woke Breakfast and Coffee.” The word, “Woke,” was decided upon, she said, to reference the morning ritual of waking up with a cup of coffee and breakfast, which is the restaurant’s brand. (The “O” in the signage is represented by a cooked egg.) The local conservatives got butt hurt because of the business’ use of the word, even going as far as protesting outside its entrance and posting inflammatory comments on its Facebook page. They have the imperialist mentality of, “We conquered this word and you can’t use it!” Did they copywrite it? Don’t think so. Manifest Destiny be damned!

Of course, I jest. Some schmuck from the Right will read this and then announce to the world that the Left wants to outlaw the adjective, “woke.” Originally, it was just a lonely verb. Wham-mo! Not any more! The culture war rages on, just like Chairman Mao’s “Cultural Revolution.” Except that you can expect American culture warriors to wave King James Bibles as opposed to the Little Red Book.

So, what’s the deal with the phrase, “common sense?” The way to obscure knowledge is through the misuse of simple terminology. Right wing propaganda, think tanks handed the religious Right a list of terms to be dictated to the uneducated, poor White masses. They misused Thomas Paine’s Revolutionary 1776 pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which talked about breaking away from England; the original 13 colonies were part of the British Common Wealth. The defunct “Tea Party” was a Bush Jr. era conservative group that romanticized the American Revolution. Thus, the phrase, “common sense,” got utilized on every Right wing, A.M. radio show, as well as in mass mailings. I doubt that any of them ever read the Thomas Paine essay.

Now enter the Religious Right. They furthered misuse of the phrase by reducing it to mean Anti-Intellectualism, or any form of matriculation in America. According to them, it also means making the uneducated feel good about themselves. “Oh! You Eggheads think you are superior, but I’ve got common sense! So there!” I don’t know about you, but should I have surgery, I don’t want some douche bag with “common sense,” operating on me! I want a genius who was educated at a top university and trained in the best hospitals.

Every time I hear the phrase, “common sense,” I know I’m in for an onslaught of Republican talking points. Gish gallop away! Oh, no! Not for me dude!

Oh! One more thing: Fuck common sense! The fundamentalist definition of the phrase, that is!