The death of Common Sense

[Prof. Robert]

A friend sent this obituary to me via e-mail; maybe she's trying to tell me something. Anywho, anyway, I liked the concept, so I thought I'd share it with the forum. I'm also planning to assign it to two of my classes as an exercise in analysing argument.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Robert

Obituary

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 earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children,
are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-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 they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student - but
could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became
contraband, 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 can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize 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;
his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else
is to Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral be cause so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and
do nothing.

[PAULBACH]

Political Correctness will ensure that Not Many will attend

[jdmetzger]

I'm not one to support frivolous lawsuits, and although I agree with a number of the things on this list, I think it's worth noting that the "hot coffee" thing was actually a valid claim.

First, the woman who spilled the coffee wasn't driving, she was the passenger in the car, and the car was not in motion when spilled. Second, she received third degree burns, which required skin grafts; I don't think coffee should be quite THAT hot. Third, she asked the restaurant for $20,000 for expenses, but they refused to pay her. During the lawsuit, they found out McDonalds had paid out 700 claims over 10 years, for the same problem. They were keeping the coffee at 180 degrees. Normal "at home" coffee is 140 degrees. That 40 degrees is a substantial difference, in regards to burn danger. They have since lowered the temperature.

The whole description is here:

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

Sorry for the short thread hijack! :wave

[Rasbutan]

Political Correctness will ensure that Not Many will attend

I'll be there.....I've never been PC anyways.
:usa

[username]

I'm not one to support frivolous lawsuits, and although I agree with a number of the things on this list, I think it's worth noting that the "hot coffee" thing was actually a valid claim.

First, the woman who spilled the coffee wasn't driving, she was the passenger in the car, and the car was not in motion when spilled. Second, she received third degree burns, which required skin grafts; I don't think coffee should be quite THAT hot. Third, she asked the restaurant for $20,000 for expenses, but they refused to pay her. During the lawsuit, they found out McDonalds had paid out 700 claims over 10 years, for the same problem. They were keeping the coffee at 180 degrees. Normal "at home" coffee is 140 degrees. That 40 degrees is a substantial difference, in regards to burn danger. They have since lowered the temperature.

The whole description is here:

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

Sorry for the short thread hijack! :wave

i love it when threads get hijacked by facts. :D

i took a class in college and
the death of common sense (http://www.amazon.com/Death-Common-Sense-Suffocating-America/dp/0446672289) was part of the required reading. an interesting book to read.

[RTRandy]

This is all well in good, but unfortunately these kinds of emails are constructed for ONE and ONLY ONE reason. The key sentence is always at the end :If you still remember him, pass this on.

These emails are designed to provoke you into passing it along to all your friends in an attempt to get the word out on something we really stand for when in reality they are designed and used by spammers to harvest all the tons of email addresses these continue to pick up along the way.

This has less to do with the death of common sence and more about all the growing number of people who try scam well intentioned people every day.

Sad actually and it's not about the loss of common sence.

Never pass stuff along that instructs you to do so. . . "Send to at least ten people you know" "Don't break the chain of bad carma will happen to you"

It's all just to get those email address and sell them for SPAM.

[cjack]

I'm not one to support frivolous lawsuits, and although I agree with a number of the things on this list, I think it's worth noting that the "hot coffee" thing was actually a valid claim.

First, the woman who spilled the coffee wasn't driving, she was the passenger in the car, and the car was not in motion when spilled. Second, she received third degree burns, which required skin grafts; I don't think coffee should be quite THAT hot. Third, she asked the restaurant for $20,000 for expenses, but they refused to pay her. During the lawsuit, they found out McDonalds had paid out 700 claims over 10 years, for the same problem. They were keeping the coffee at 180 degrees. Normal "at home" coffee is 140 degrees. That 40 degrees is a substantial difference, in regards to burn danger. They have since lowered the temperature.

The whole description is here:

http://caoc.com/CA/index.cfm?event=showPage&pg=facts

Sorry for the short thread hijack! :wave

Seems like the death of common sense was with McDonalds. Wonder why they kept the coffee so hot. Maybe it took longer to drink and folks didn't ask for a refill.

[sgborgstrom]

From Boyd's Coffee:

Temperature
A second requirement of water for good coffee brewing is the water temperature as it passes over the coffee grounds. Ideal brewing temperature is 200°F, plus or minus 5°F (at sea level). Subtract 2°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation. Too low a temperature causes flavor compounds not to dissolve resulting in an under extracted weak beverage. Too high a temperature will cause flavor changes resulting in an over-extracted bitter and astringent beverage. By maintaining the proper temperature throughout the brew cycle, optimum extraction can be attained.

IIRC the original jury award in this case was eventually reduced by a significant margin.

The overall tone of this little screed wasn't too bad as these things go, but really went off the tracks when it hit the bit about the "10 commandents" becoming contraband.
Nobody has argued for making that bit of "advice" illegal, merely that in a society that has (in theory at least) separated church from state a credo that clearly supports a singular religious view of the world should not be given a US government stamp of approval.

Steve

[Montana]

...it's not about the loss of common sence. I agree; it reflects the loss of propriety and common courtesy. But then again, that's why I like to say:
"Common sense isn't really common any more."

Or, as my mother would say:
"If you're going to be common and easy, at least don't be cheap."

[Mika]

Sad actually and it's not about the loss of common sence.

Never pass stuff along that instructs you to do so. . . "Send to at least ten people you know" "Don't break the chain of bad carma will happen to you"

It's all just to get those email address and sell them for SPAM.

Rumors of the death of Common Sense are in error. She is fine, is quietly dealing with daily life and life’s normal state of confusion. We were discussing the e-mail issues the other day, via e-mail and she gave me the same advice.

Now I want thank her publically and all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send
me your chain letters over the past two years. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Because of your concern...

I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these
products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be
pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a
water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a
perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually
Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our
troops.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a
stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls
to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat prepackaged foods because the estrogens they contain
will turn me gay.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant
freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer go to bars because someone will drug me and take my kidneys
and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I
forward an email to 7 of my friends and make a wish within 5 minutes.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who has
been dying for the past seven years.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive
the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in
their special e-mail program.

I will now return the favor.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next 60
seconds, a large bird with diarrhea will fly over your head at 5:00 pm
and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits. I know this
will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a
friend's neighbor's cousin, and he's a lawyer.

[Prof. Robert]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Based on what I've read here, using Common Sense's obituary in class promises to provide quite a bit of dialectic and agonistic enlightenment (not to mention just some good old-fashioned fun). And speaking of fun, you guys are more than welcome to attend and participate in what will probably become a lively discussion. I should warn you beforehand that your opinions will be challenged; no one is exempt--not even me. The only rule is "No personal attacks!"; this includes questioning one's ancestory, name calling, and/or blunt force trauma.

Robert

[Mika]

Do you teach English in Texas ? :lurk
esl to citizens :stick

[Prof. Robert]

Oh no, I wouldn't dream of teaching English in Texas. "We all" already speak a language so closely related to our Mother Tongue that most of "ya'll" can almost understand it. My area is Composition and Argument.

When I do feel compelled to "teach" English, however, I usually travel to Langley, Virginia or Lilydale where anyone with a vocabulary exceeding five words is considered gifted and talented. :stick

Hey, Statdawg when you write "Ahora veo, ese cafe' soy muy caliente."
are trying to tell us that you're a hot coffee? :jose :hide

BTW M1ka, would you mind if I use your post "Rumors ..." as an exercise in sentence structure and construction in one of my Developmental Reading and Writing classes? I promise to cite authorship.

Ya'll come back now, heah?
Robert

[Mika]

Feel free to use my jottings any time. I try to provide all the humor that I am able.

[Prof. Robert]

Thanks, I'm sure my myrmidons :ha will enjoy the humor. They might not appreciate the labor, but they will love the laughs. :laugh

Robert

[Bigrider]

[QUOTE=sgborgstrom]From Boyd's Coffee:

Temperature
A second requirement of water for good coffee brewing is the water temperature as it passes over the coffee grounds. Ideal brewing temperature is 200°F, plus or minus 5°F (at sea level). Subtract 2°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation. Too low a temperature causes flavor compounds not to dissolve resulting in an under extracted weak beverage. Too high a temperature will cause flavor changes resulting in an over-extracted bitter and astringent beverage. By maintaining the proper temperature throughout the brew cycle, optimum extraction can be attained.

Gee, I almost though we were going to get to the point that coffee is brewed hot. Duh, people that put it in their laps and take the lid off in a car are plain stupid. I'm sorry for the ladies injuries, but damn, it's her fault.

The newest, not-my-fault (NMF) on TV is the lady who is suing Gm for not having a brake/reverse gadget that doesn't allow shifting into reverse without the brake on. She put a young child in a running car and the kid put the car in reverse running over and killing a sibling. Her fault for such mindless stupidity...nooo it got to be GM.

Yes Common Sense has died in this society.

Thanks for allowing me to rant. And yes I feel better.

Dave H
San Antonio, TX

[jdmetzger]

Hey, Bigrider there was a lady that sued a store because she fell over a toddler. It was hers ! There was a thief that locked himself into an attached garage of a house that he was robbing. He survived on dog food and canned soda. The family returned after 4 days and the poor thief sued and won 500,000 dollars for pain and suffering. Might have received more if it was uncooked brats and warm beer ? Soy going for coffee. :laugh

Just back for another dose of facts! :) All of these examples are fake. At the link below, there are some examples of REAL stupid lawsuits. Carry on! :thumb

http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

Also, if anyone is interested, here is a link to the previously mentioned story about the child running over another by popping the vehicle in to gear. This one is true:

http://tinyurl.com/uzrmv

[jdmetzger]

You mean people lie on the internet ? :deal Soy is suing. :lurk Remember when Audis killed people by slipping into gear at idle ?

I thought it was Jeep Grand Cherokee's slipping into gear at idle?

I know I slip into gear while at idle sometimes, but only on really cold days when I want to warm the bike up, first. *rimshot*

Thank you, I'll be here all week, folks!

:D

[TheSlashFiveTourer]

A little blurb I read in a local newspaper some time ago. I cut it out and filed it away thinking I might want to reference it someday. Today is that day.

IS COMMON SENSE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

Manners and the public peace shouldn’t take second spot to a cell phone buzzing in class.

(by Shelley Fralic / Vancouver (BC) Sun / 15 July 2006)

There are many excuses to admire Nancy Reagan. One is that she stayed happily married to a man whose extracurricular activity included a romp with an ape.

Another is that she instinctively knows how to wear red, not the easiest thing to do if you ask anyone who has tried it.

And, of course, she championed that now familiar admonishment: Just Say No.

In Nancy’s case, it was in response to her shocked discovery, as wife of the president, that America had a drug problem, and so she used it as a catch phrase to launch a country-wide anti-drug campaign.

Before long the memorable motto worked its way around the world, attaching itself not only to the war on drugs, but alcohol, fast food, violence, bullying, pre-marital sex and an assortment of other real and perceived social transgressions.

Twenty years on, Just Say No, as rallying cry, has cemented its place in the modern lexicon, both as bumper sticker and advertising staple, co-opted by everyone from abuse counselors to those not enamoured with the universe built by Bill Gates.

But no matter its genesis or application, Just Say No, for the purposes of today’s rant, works rather well.

If you will, then, a few suggestions for local application of Nancy’s slogan, prompted by an op-ed piece published recently in another daily newspaper and written by a criminology instructor at a local university.

This teacher, incredibly, was having trouble getting his students to turn off their cell phones during class.

“On the first day of this past semester, a student’s cell rang while I was reading the riot act regarding cell phones in class,” he wrote. “Five minutes later it rang again. Twenty minutes later, someone else got a call.”

To his credit, and our amazement, he actually has a policy, like other instructors, of restricting cell phone use during class, but says many students bridle at the deprivation and cell phones continue to ring in classrooms across the land.

Insufferable youth and pathetic parenting aside, how did we end up with an education system whereby the asylum is run by the inmates?

At what point did we, as a society, decide that basic manners and the public peace are easy sacrifices when a cell phone, Blackberry, pager or text messaging is urgently buzzing in a movie, restaurant and classroom.

Why are we so afraid to Just Say No?

And then there’s the skank factor, whereby we are made to feel guilty, and somehow responsible, for the exponential growth all over the Lower Mainland of those to whom drugs, welfare cheques and crime are a trio of charter rights and a perfect complement for an appalling lack of ambition and personal responsibility.

These are the dull young things who sit outside your average coffee shop the day long, or gather in packs on benches in the park, planning new tats and getting water for their muscle dogs. They fling their butts into the street, flex their tats, hassle kids and old folks and appear oddly fit for people who don’t actually work.

They are the ones we allow to draw on our limited social services coffers so that really sick people, like children with diseases, the handicapped, and seniors on fixed incomes who ironically would get better health care if they, too, were only addicted to crack, are getting short-changed on the financial help they really need.

Why don’t we Just Say No?

No, you can’t keep stealing my barbecue just because it’s easier to pawn metal than it is to show up regularly for work.

No, I don’t have any spare change (or as the hard-working very rich Michael Jordan once said: “It takes as much energy to ask for spare change as it does to say, ‘Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?’”)

No, you can’t keep strewing your garbage all over the streets, expecting someone else to clear up after your piggishness.

Collectively, can’t we Just Say No?

And then there’s Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

That mouthful comes to us courtesy of the Harvard Medical School, no less, which is clearly running out of angst to study so has resorted to inventing a new acronym to explain away unforgivable misbehaviour such as road rage, and spousal abuse.

HMS studies show that 7.3 per cent of adults suffer from IED, which it says may also predispose us for other mental illnesses, and maybe even substance abuse.

It says IED attacks are notably out of proportion to usual reactions to “social stressors” and, by that, they surely mean life, and that instead of dealing with life normally like most of us do, some of us choose to overreact with out-of-control rage.

Here’s a thought:

Why don’t we Just Say No to every IED-like excuse we hear, inside the courts and out, for stealing, stabbing, swarming, murdering, dangerous driving, abusing children, skiing outside boundaries, hitting and running, embezzling, street racing, wife-beating and public tree-chopping.

Just think. No more, “It wasn’t my fault because I was drunk, angry, abused, abandoned, confused, stoned, distracted, sad, lonely, stupid and a juvenile.”

And finally, can we Just Say No to those whose priorities are so clearly out of whack that their common sense was last seen heading for the endangered species list.

By which we refer to the tragic death earlier this week of 'Wiarton Willie' (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/groundhogday/) the Ontario groundhog without which we apparently can’t predict the weather.

Seems Willie’s keepers couldn’t bear the thought of life without the little albino guy, and thus it was revealed that the revered rodent, ailing for a month or so with an infection, was finally taken off life support and allowed to die in dignity at the ripe old age of eight.

A groundhog on life support?

Just Say No.

Well? ` ` :lurk

[PacWestGS]

It's a damn shame when laws are created and juries’ award damages for people that Darwin felt should exterminate themselves from polluting the gene pool.

But I guess that’s progress; I can’t wait to see where things are in another twenty years.

I thought about slipping on some spilt motor-oil (in the isle) in a K-Mart once. I stepped aside and notified a store worker. I’m such a dumb idiot that was better odds than winning the Lottery.





:hide

[Prof. Robert]

Hey Statdawg, that's good. My biggest fear would be that some of my more assertive students would use the study to validate their less than stellar proofreading habits. However, I would like to post that little ditty on our department list serve and then sit back and watch the fireworks. :lurk

Robert

[chfite]

"She put a young child in a running car and the kid put the car in reverse running over and killing a sibling."

Not able to use the parking brake, I suppose. Maybe not leave children unattended in an operating automobile.

Life is a harsh taskmistress.

[bubbagazoo]

It's a damn shame when laws are created and juries’ award damages for people that Darwin felt should exterminate themselves from polluting the gene pool.


:hide

I'm waiting for the law suit against the City of Calgary where last week a young teen put a sizeable rock on the grating of a car trap (a device that closes roads to cars but allows transit buses to pass). The reason, I have no idea. However, when the bus came along, it ran over the rock and launched the rock into the young lad's head at an extremely high velocity. He died from his injuries the next day. Darwin Award nominee -- I hope so.

I realize that there would seem to be no way the city could have done anything to prevent this from happening but there is probably some personal injury lawyer in Calgary finding an angle from which to launch a law suit. Oh whoa is us when lack of common sense is an excuse to blame somebody else for our own actions.

[PacWestGS]

[QUOTE=bubbagazoo]However, when the bus came along, it ran over the rock and launched the rock into the young lad's head at an extremely high velocity. He died from his injuries the next day. Darwin Award nominee -- I hope so.

I realize that there would seem to be no way the city could have done anything to prevent this from happening[QUOTE]

At least Natural Selection is still a law of nature and there really isn't much anyone can do to prevent someone from being so stupid that they kill themselves. It's the governments that need to stay away from making something SO SAFE that even idiots can't injure themselves, even if they may injure someone else in the process of being stupid. :dunno

[R80RTJohnny]

Seems like the death of common sense was with McDonalds. Wonder why they kept the coffee so hot. Maybe it took longer to drink and folks didn't ask for a refill.
Bingo! I've never felt so out of place when on holidays I'd stop at McDonalds in the morning to see so many senior citizens. Talk about feeling like a visible minority.

How can they ask for a free refill if they cannot finish it.

[OUTBACKUFO]

Hey Statdawg, that's good. My biggest fear would be that some of my more assertive students would use the study to validate their less than stellar proofreading habits. However, I would like to post that little ditty on our department list serve and then sit back and watch the fireworks. :lurk

Robert


it is like the stutent at some university somewhere that used the theorum in a philosoy(spl?) class exam that asked to prove certain existence theries and just put... "WHAT EXAM?"... this post modernism way of dodging responsiblilty only works for the first person who uses as the noval idea... then it is just re-gurgitated filth as is the remanents of the Post Modern eras... the proffessor only have to have students sign and date a class room agreement to the education experience that confirms that they understand the rules and must take the responsiblity to ask ???s.... as with any art history paper only th first one to do the new idea can make the justification of use... after that is only proof that a person is uneducated and did not take the duediligence of self-education... thus the use of the new idea is only abused into oblivion...





























the only people who can use the no spell check is the SexDyclics of the world.. :hide :nyah

[PacWestGS]

Huh, that was way over my head Mike. :laugh