Sad News...

BlueFox

txcoastal1 wrote: »

Majority of the common working people in our area slip out of the jury system because they are busy, so the jury selection is often tainted by the entitlement group.

nooshinjohn wrote: »

All to easy to laugh at, make fun of, ridicule and point fingers at everybody else rather than look at yourself in the mirror every morning and ask the tough questions.

Amazingly, I agree.

It really irritates me when I hear people bragging about how they got out of jury duty, or don't vote for whatever reason, and yet it always seems to be the same group complaining about jury decisions, or politics. :rolleyes:

tonyb

kevhed72 wrote: »

Dudes....relax. All I know is getting all 'rilled up over the political marketing machine in this country gets you nowhere....except pissed off at the world. Really....just think about it. Our 2 political parties thrive under discourse and ideology that rarely reflects reality. It only ensures one or the other will get elected every cycle. The media is also to blame. Fox News and MSNBC thrive when they tell their target demographic what they want to hear - which is rarely news-worthy in the first place. Relax, drink a beer or light one up, and listen to some music. Yeah, music....that sounds good. Say it.......mooooooosic. I like music and I will turn off the TV and just listen to music. Good night America.

Kex my man, nobody injected Fox news, MSNBC, or the Blaze into the thread but you. While I may agree with some of what you just said, that sort of tone gets threads closed. Or is that the purpose ?

What you suggest is pay no mind to the world around you, tune out to everything else and just tune in to the music. That's a great philosophy but guess what ? You can only hide for so long, the world will find you.

tonyb

txcoastal1 wrote: »

We have lost the days of just being responsible of ones own actions and taking care of ourselves.

Amen to that pal....amen to that.

LeftCoast

kevhed72 wrote: »

Dudes....relax. All I know is getting all 'rilled up over the political marketing machine in this country gets you nowhere....except pissed off at the world. Really....just think about it. Our 2 political parties thrive under discourse and ideology that rarely reflects reality. It only ensures one or the other will get elected every cycle. The media is also to blame. Fox News and MSNBC thrive when they tell their target demographic what they want to hear - which is rarely news-worthy in the first place. Relax, drink a beer or light one up, and listen to some music. Yeah, music....that sounds good. Say it.......mooooooosic. I like music and I will turn off the TV and just listen to music. Good night America.

One problem is that people don't stay informed. When they do, too often they go, not to a real news source, but to a media source that supports whatever philosophy they believe in. It doesn't make for a very informed populace either way. Has anyone seen that bit from...I think it was Jimmy Kimmel. His crew went out on the street, and they asking random people this question:

"What do you believe is better, ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act?"

The answers were sad.

Kex

tonyb wrote: »

Kex my man, nobody injected Fox news, MSNBC, or the Blaze into the thread but you. While I may agree with some of what you just said, that sort of tone gets threads closed. Or is that the purpose ? ...

That was not my post, tonyb, and I never mentioned Fox News or MSNBC. The Blaze, on the other hand, is permanently engraved on every post by some, and that is no accident, as we all know full well, since it would seem to be their intent to circumvent forum rules by that artifice.

Nevermind. We have here two versions of the same text (there is a link to another version of the same thing early on). The initial post claims to lament the loss of common sense, but who actually wrote it? Well, it dates from March of 1998, apparently, and was written by Lori Borgman. This is how the original version claims to read today (it may have been modified):

Three yards of black fabric enshroud my computer terminal. I am mourning the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense. His obituary reads as follows: Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was, his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of bureaucratic red tape. Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes, schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering.

Rules and regulations and petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S. A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet.

C.S. also developed sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little fiber and orange juice).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men's movement, body piercing, whole language and new math. C.S.'s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus.

In the following decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional baseball and golf.

His deterioration accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of 6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates, a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch, girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart could endure.

As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S. breathed his last.

Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S. was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter, Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.

Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational Thought. Farewell, Common Sense. May you rest in peace..

Notice the reference to "mandatory air bags" that I put in bold? They were probably unpopular "evil" regulations in 1998 because of the additional cost that the automotive industry were complaining about, just as they complained about catalytic converters and seat belts. Regulations don't always make sense, but common sense would dictate that this text is being used rather loosely, to say the least, and would anyone seriously want to remove the airbags from their vehicles today? This probably explains why that particular reference has been removed from many of the more recent versions of the text, because common sense, in hindsight, might dictate the mandatory presence of airbags.

Perhaps the country is in much better shape than the dire picture that the text attempts to suggest ...

nooshinjohn

Thanks Kex for finding the piece as it was originally written.(though it may go back even farther) the intent of the original post was to discuss what has become of those things that were seemingly second nature to us. We had lawn darts when we were kids, cap guns, chemistry sets, and any number of toys that would be considered weapons of mass destruction at schools today. We have laws that make it illegal to drive without a seatbelt, but in most states a helmet on a motorcycle is optional. Here in California, bikers cut between lanes at 70mph in bumper to bumper traffic!

Common sense should be a topic that can be discussed without politics or argument... At least I thought so anyway.

F1nut

"What do you believe is better, ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act?"

The answers were sad.

That's putting it nicely and that's all I better say.

tonyb

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Common sense should be a topic that can be discussed without politics or argument... At least I thought so anyway.

Absolutely John.....hows that movie quote go....."Just when I thought I was out, they keep sucking me back in ." LOL

Kex pal, your right, my bad on the quoting the wrong person, though you did bring up the blaze, but lets just drop it shall we ?

Common sense....I find particularly amusing that those who think they have it, don't. Along those same lines is the ability to do critical thinking, another lost art. That's why so many turn to others to do it for them. We see it everyday, that pack mentality where words are recited almost exactly as 10 other places but nobody knows why what they are repeating or for what.

Public discourse has become almost like lawyers presenting a case. Definitions of words are twisted to new meanings that can apply to almost anything. Ask someone the definition of common sense and you'll find just how many have none. Sad as it is, this all comes down to education and the home environment which in my day was the very core of making responsible adults. Granted, in a nation of 300+ million, getting agreement on anything is going to be tough, that's why we talk, negotiate, do a little give and take, to come to agreements, compromise. That alone should dictate common sense to resolve issues.

Society basically is a reflection of the people in it, that alone is sad because that reflection says people are idiots, my opinion of course, yours may differ. Maybe idiots is too strong a word....how about "uneducated"......"Lazy"......nah....I'm sticking with idiots.

krabby5

kevhed72 wrote: »

Dudes....relax. All I know is getting all 'rilled up over the political marketing machine in this country gets you nowhere....except pissed off at the world. Really....just think about it. Our 2 political parties thrive under discourse and ideology that rarely reflects reality. It only ensures one or the other will get elected every cycle. The media is also to blame. Fox News and MSNBC thrive when they tell their target demographic what they want to hear - which is rarely news-worthy in the first place. Relax, drink a beer or light one up, and listen to some music. Yeah, music....that sounds good. Say it.......mooooooosic. I like music and I will turn off the TV and just listen to music. Good night America.

end of thread

tonyb

Eh, don't be so crabby...Krabby. LOL

Civil conversation is the cornerstone of a great society.....or should be anyway.

cnh

Do you guys have "any" idea of how often people have yelled "the sky is falling" throughout human history and lived to wake up the next day and even die peacefully at an advanced age?

Common sense, yes! But whose would that be? I hear the word "entitlement" bandied about here as though some amorphous group of people, the majority of whom no one here has ever met face to face, this looming bogey man is some blood sucking self serving money gobbling bastage! And yet, we could very easily use that same phrase to describe those individuals that are "privileged", and think they deserve everything and that all should serve them because of their wealth and status--that they are some form of ruling class that should lord it over everyone who makes a less than top one percent income! What about the people that abuse the markets, the swindle other people's retirement accounts, that receive corporate welfare (to an excess probably greater than all the so-called lazy entitled sector of poor, disabled, retired, homeless, and so on)...the 11th commandment, it seems, is "Though shalt have NO compassion for the lesser of thee!" In fact, that's some of the common sense I see at the Club here! No?

Maybe instead of Club Polk we should call ourselves: The I, ME, MINE forum, lol

Do you guys ever read your posts out loud and hear what you're actually saying, how disturbing some of it is, sometimes? Or are we just going to yell and scream about "ourselves" and "our" rights forever and ever with NO OTHER in sight?

cnh

tonyb

Hey pal, welcome to the conversation. You hit on many....many side topics in your post. Valid as some may be, and seeing as your a teacher, I would hope your thoughts on common sense, or lack there of would be a great contribution.

I'm pretty sure you see the lack there of in the education circles, I know a lot of us do. But as many as these conversations always come back to, how do you revive common sense from the dead ? Or has society just willfully determined it's no longer needed ?

To me anyway, common sense and critical thinking I would hope is something instilled in children at an early age in hopes it last a lifetime. Something I also hope was instilled by parents and enforced in our education system. No ? See, in my day anyway, parents and the education system were partners, worked hand in hand with each other. Today, that relationship is confrontational at best. Yes....no ? Your thoughts are always welcome my friend.