The demise of an old friend

[Clouddancer]

I received this satire as an Email thought I'd pass it on. It seems apt for the stupid times we live in.



[I]An Obituary printed in the London Times (in the USA)....... interesting and sadly rather true



Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many

years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.



He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain;

Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.



Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies

(adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but over bearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch;

and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.



It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents

when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.



Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.



Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.



Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was

promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife,

Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,

Reason... He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights I Want It Now Someone Else Is To Blame I'm A Victim.



Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. I]

[Aubrey]

There is a University of Common sense on YouTube. They reckon that it is common sense for dialysis patients to stop having dialysis, but take their - the University's - potions instead.

Descartes said that Common Sense is the most fairly distributed commodity in creation, because everyone reckons that they've got exactly the right amount. Descartes' common sense told him that animals don't feel pain and he spent a lot of time cutting them up in order to prove it, only to prove the opposite.

[Mal Hombre]

His sister Consideration is gravely ill and may not long survive him.

[jazper]

As my old english teacher always said " Common sense, is not common!"

[MaxJoker]

This thread reminds me of my dear GranddaddySkull

He was a caring chap , not like me at all

Even now many years later i can still remember sitting beside him as he spoke about how fragile and precious life was. Truly i can see him now ,his eyes watering as he reminisced about outliving everyone he`d grown up with and how upsetting it`d been to watch all his old friends slowly die one by one .

But as i said to him at the time

"Well you didn`t have to feed them those berries did you "

[mrfixit]

I have always wondered why common sense is soooo uncommon.

[rc_riddle]

Yeah, you all know I have to put my tuppence in here!!
As a non-smoker, I was really glad with the smokeing ban. I could just sit, as I do at Home, in a Smoke proof environment.
And so does Brian who is 86 years old and fought for our freedom in WW2 and has go outside for a gasp!
I think, perhaps, we should be partaking of our fresh air, and the freedoms these people bought for us elsewhere!!!

[penfold007]

With apologies for being serious.... There are a few inaccuracies, to the extent that it reads like a Daily Wail article.

Originally Posted by Clouddancer

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate

Not in the UK, where the age of criminal responsibility is 10.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Not comprable. The first is the school administering a drug (asprin) - naturally parental consent should be sought if somoene without medical qualifications (I don't mean a first aid certificate) is going to give drugs to a child.

This is no way comprable to abortions. Schools do not perform abortions. Doctors do. The law on abortion (and minors consenting to any medical treatment) in the UK is extremely enlightened thanks to those crusty old buffers, the Law Lords and the persistence of a Mrs Victoria Gillick in trying to stop her daughters seeing information on contraception before they were 16. In fighting the case and losing she gave teenage girls control of their own bodies, at least in this regard.

The judgement is well worth reading (Gillick vs West Norfolk and Wisbech area health authority, or just google "Gillick compentent") if you are so minded. It was a massive victory for common sense. It was a massive victory for minors having the right to choose what happens to their own body.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

You can defend yourself. The law says "reasonable force." Juries have on multiple occasions accepted self defence when lethal force has been used. Because ultimately it is not the judge, not the police and not the CPS barrister that convicts or accquits, it is the jury of 12 ordinary people. They have to be convinced that the force was reasonable.

You can't shoot someone in the back while they are running away, that is not self defence. You can't round up some mates and chase after them then batter them with cricket bats. That is a revenge attack.


There is an enormous amount of really bad, nonsensical law in this country (especially surrounding defamation, but in lots of other areas as well). The examples I have highlighted are not amongst it.

rant over.

[47Crash]

Common Sense was taken ill during the Thatcher years but, instead of healing him, her successors only helped speed him on his way. The current government seems to particularly hate good ol' common sense, happy to pull the plug. We shall miss everything he stood for as we tumble headlong into a world ruled with an iron fist by the ultimate enemy, political correctness. Time to duck and cover, methinks!

[MaxJoker]

Originally Posted by mrfixit

I have always wondered why common sense is soooo uncommon.

Ma daddy always said " Common sense is like a box-o-choc-o-lates , made of coca solids and has a tendency to melt if heated above 37 °C "


But then he has always talked total bollocks