Merriam- Webster defines common sense as "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Not every person has a good dose of common sense, a fact that is becoming increasingly more obvious.
The most recent example I have witnessed of someone with a deficiency in this category was on interstate 285, a major thoroughfare that circles Atlanta, Georgia. All my Georgian friends who have driven this crazy interstate know just how much traffic and construction goes on in the course of an average day on this interstate. It's actually crazy, and one of the busiest intestates in the country regardless of the time of day (but Lord help you if you get stuck on it during rush hour). To continue on with the story, I was driving on I-285 recently on a trip to Birmingham and as soon as I got on the entrance ramp, traffic began to slow. This is not uncommon for this interstate, so I just waited patiently for the traffic to pass whatever was slowing us down. I was in the lane right next to the fast lane, and I started noticing people in my lane getting over. I drove up a little bit farther and the first thing I noticed were small cones. The next thing I noticed was a stationary truck around which numerous cones had been placed, not just the first cones I had seen. The last and most ridiculous thing I saw was a man standing at the front of the truck, the hood was popped open, and the guy was pouring something that appeared to be coolant into his truck.
Common sense is no where to be seen in this at all. The guy took the time to place cones around his vehicle in the middle of I-285 traffic, but he couldn't pull off to either side. I'll give it to him that he was probably having engine problems, but, and I may be wrong, I have seen plenty of people who have had engine problems at least have enough time to get over to the side of the road. Another idiot move was that he was moving around the car in the middle of high traffic volume. Was he not afraid for his own safety? I didn't stick around long enough to see how this story ended but I sincerely hope that he did not get hit.
This all brings me back to the point that common sense just isn't that common anymore.
"Common sense" is not causing a safety hazard for yourself and for others in the middle of a busy interstate.
Furthermore...
"Common sense" is realizing you have to work if you want to earn money.
"Common sense" is realizing that you don't just get to start off making $80,000 to $100,000 a year right out of college, you have to start at the bottom and pay your dues.
"Common sense" is registering to vote and using your right to vote on November 8. If you don't do those things then you have no right to complain about the state of our nation.
"Common sense" is realizing that money doesn't grow on trees, and that "free" isn't really free. Whether it's in regard to college, welfare, or the cookies you got from Public as a kid, if you didn't pay for it, someone did!
"Common sense" is not getting plastered at a party and then trying to drive home.
...I'm sure you are thinking of some things by this point that should just be common sense but are not common anymore. If society just thought through its actions a little more and engaged that part of your metal capabilities called "critical thinking" and "common sense," the world would be a safer and happier place in which to live.
