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[splott]

An Obituary printed in the London Times - 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 overbearing 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 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, 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, and I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing. 
 

[waspy]

How correct that is   A sad passing
Maybe one day he'll live again :-/

[splott]

How correct that is   A sad passing
Maybe one day he'll live again :-/

Its been a long and lingering death!!!!!!!!!!!

[webby23]

Good posting mate, totally true...and sad.....

 

[Lizzie_Zoom]

We first had a "nighidiotchmen state" in Britain during the late 19th century, when freedom meant just that, as long as you worked with, and did not harm, others.  We then developed into a "welfare state" during the twentieth century, were those in need were supported at some cost to others, but people and businesses could take risks and just make their own common sense decisions.

We have now entered fully the "regulatory state" where business and the people are thought of as requiring protection from the risk takers (bankers now come into this!!!), but regretfully with this comes the loss of common sense being catered for.  Health & Safety is of course a prime reason for us not being able to just excercise common sense in all things, with regulations being laid out on what we can do from A to Z.  Sometimes when observing others you can see why, given what some people will do, and you can appreciate why the freedom for people to exercise a "we can do anything we want" is perhaps best restricted. Our society runs on regulations that have developed surrounding our transport, education, industry, to stop such things say as trains breaking apart in mid-journey, cars and lorries being safe to use on our roads, with crash barriers to stop vehicles hitting each other at speed on motorways when things go wrong, children not being physically assulted by mad teachers, and people not being able to climb into machinery at work and crushed.  "Common  sense" did completely rule in those days, but at some cost.

Yes, common sense should come into our life, and personally I use it when standing on a railway platform and ensuring I don't jump on the track to cross to the other side.  I use it when drinking a hot drink and ensuring I drink it slowly.  I use it when descending a flight of stairs, when I hold onto the hand rail..........by now you know what I mean!  In everyday life we still exercise common sense, but yes in "officialdom" matters we are regulated, but even there people can exercise "common sense".  I found that out when I found one of my staff climbing up the side of warehouse racking - I did not call that common sense though, just plain "stupidity"!!!  And that is what regulation aims to do, to stop that form of stupidity; to keep us and our families safe.   

However, one day the regulatory state will pass, and the freedom to exercise full "common sense" will once again prevail in all we do, with no doubt the horrific loss of life that used to be a common fact in both unregulated industry and everyday living.

But no, common sense is only dead if you allow it to be so in your life.  You can still take the risks if you want; but you will pay a penalty when things go wrong.

 

[Dishevelled Den]

We first had a "nighidiotchmen state" in Britain during the late 19th century, when freedom meant just that, as long as you worked with, and did not harm, others.  We then developed into a "welfare state" during the twentieth century, were those in need were supported at some cost to others, but people and businesses could take risks and just make their own common sense decisions.

We have now entered fully the "regulatory state" where business and the people are thought of as requiring protection from the risk takers (bankers now come into this!!!), but regretfully with this comes the loss of common sense being catered for.  Health & Safety is of course a prime reason for us not being able to just excercise common sense in all things, with regulations being laid out on what we can do from A to Z.  Sometimes when observing others you can see why, given what some people will do, and you can appreciate why the freedom for people to exercise a "we can do anything we want" is perhaps best restricted. Our society runs on regulations that have developed surrounding our transport, education, industry, to stop such things say as trains breaking apart in mid-journey, cars and lorries being safe to use on our roads, with crash barriers to stop vehicles hitting each other at speed on motorways when things go wrong, children not being physically assulted by mad teachers, and people not being able to climb into machinery at work and crushed.  "Common  sense" did completely rule in those days, but at some cost.

Yes, common sense should come into our life, and personally I use it when standing on a railway platform and ensuring I don't jump on the track to cross to the other side.  I use it when drinking a hot drink and ensuring I drink it slowly.  I use it when descending a flight of stairs, when I hold onto the hand rail..........by now you know what I mean!  In everyday life we still exercise common sense, but yes in "officialdom" matters we are regulated, but even there people can exercise "common sense".  I found that out when I found one of my staff climbing up the side of warehouse racking - I did not call that common sense though, just plain "stupidity"!!! And that is what regulation aims to do, to stop that form of stupidity; to keep us and our families safe. 
However, one day the regulatory state will pass, and the freedom to exercise full "common sense" will once again prevail in all we do, with no doubt the horrific loss of life that used to be a common fact in both unregulated industry and everyday living.

But no, common sense is only dead if you allow it to be so in your life.  You can still take the risks if you want; but you will pay a penalty when things go wrong.

 

And that is what regulation aims to do, to stop that form of stupidity; to keep us and our families safe.

Should it have been realistically conceived and applied with common sense then perhaps E.

It does seem that the propensity of those interpreting the many regulations lack the ability to think outside of the diktat and apply sound common sense when considering matters demanding their attention.

Such regulatory behaviour simply pushes people towards utter dependence on being told what to do by people who seem to increasingly lack the common sense to respond in a way not inextricably linked to the body of the regulation.

We can already see the risk adverse society developing through the loss of common sense and the increase of regulation.