February 23, 2006 Issue

Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. —Coleridge.

I believe that the common people of this world; the regular folks, everyman, or if you prefer biblical terms, “the salt of the earth,” are our strength. If given a chance—and we rarely are—masses of people possess an abundance of common sense.

My father used to say that most leaders, whether in the business or political realms, don’t even have “walking around sense.” That has never been more apparent than it is now.

The recent accidental shooting by Vice President Cheney is an example of the lack of sense at the top of our political heap. In a world where a minimally talented entertainer dominates headlines for not putting her child in a car seat, the shooting of a man by the vice president is going to get some attention.

Was it an accident? Of course. Was it preventable? Surely. Did the vice president violate the tenets of basic gun safety? Yes. Did he have the proper stamp on his license that all bird hunters must have? No. Will he be the poster boy for the NRA’s primary argument against gun control that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people?” Probably not.

The blundering Cheney is a pompous, self-righteous, bully of a man. As the pratfalls of this administration continue, he becomes the embodiment of the old saying: “When a small man casts a long shadow it means the sun is going down.”

This sun is rapidly setting on this administration comprised of so many small men.

Their legacy of WMDs, Abu Gharib, Gitmo, the nonsense over the death of Terry Schiavo, the response to Hurricane Katrina, the Valerie Pflame affair, the Halliburton no-bid involvement in Iraq, and our runaway budget has proven one thing: the boobs can’t get anything right. They have defied the law of averages. Normally everyone, through sheer luck, will get something right every now and then.

Cheney is an example of how someone winds up with a little influence in this country. You start with an incredible amount of power and political capital and through sheer stupidity, incompetence, and arrogance you whittle it away over time.

Politics does not have a monopoly on deception and misinformation in our Madison Avenue culture. I was at Home Depot the other day, standing behind 10 customers in the only checkout line in the store. Home Depot’s advertising would lead you to believe that during a leisurely stroll down their aisles you could learn how to tile a floor, install a ceiling fan, hang doors and windows, repair a roof, or build cabinets for your kitchen. Well, not exactly.

Wal-Mart would like you to believe they are the most charitable business imaginable. They also imply that the kind, elderly gentleman who feebly greets you at their front door is not an employee. Rather, he is an associate. Well, not really.

Applebee’s insists it is “Your neighborhood bar and grill.” Whose neighborhood? Not mine.

Insurance companies want you to believe you can rest safely knowing that your risks are in their hands. When the Katrina catastrophe is behind us, the insurance companies will rank with the government when it comes to sheer incompetence. They will wreck people’s lives and businesses through avarice, greed, and “fine print” deception. The “Good Hands” people are better at counting your money than they are at honoring their obligations to policyholders. Anyone who has been through the Catch 22 of wind damage as opposed to flood damage is aware of the deceptive practices. And if you think your business interruption insurance is worth the paper it is printed on, think again. The term “insurance fraud” has been given a new meaning. Insurance is legalized fraud.

I have been spending time in a small country town in the northern part of Walton County. There are three churches that have stood side by side in this town for 100 years. There aren’t enough people to fill even one of the churches. So every Sunday the people alternate their place of worship. The services revolve between the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist churches. That is common sense.

There is never talk of building funds since the churches are already big enough. There is no showmanship in these rural churches. The Methodist minister travels from his home in Alabama on a Harley. But he would never ride it into church. The music is simple church music. Rock and roll wouldn’t work in this town. The prayer lists are direct and to the point.

“Mike hit a big buck deer last night and almost destroyed his new truck.” “Ed’s having hernia surgery tomorrow morning.” Things like that.

Morning coffee is at the only store (and gas station) in town. Nobody has time to worry about who Vice President Cheney shot last week. The concerns here are about the price of diesel and the cost of feed. What time of the day will the deer be moving? Is the river rising or falling? Anyone seen the panther that had been spotted down in the river swamp? Who makes the best corn bread with cracklins? (I know the answer to that one.)

Next time you shake your head over the utter lack of common sense in this world, let me tell you where to look. Don’t bother looking in our nation’s capitol. If you think you will find it in the upper reaches of corporate America, think again. And unfortunately, the mainstream religious leaders of this country sow more confusion than almost anyone else.

Look to the common people. They will always be the backbone of this country. Regardless of how they are manipulated and taxed and abused and ignored, they will eventually have their say. Their wisdom will come from basic notions of what is right and what is wrong. They will continue to live lives based on something that is becoming incredibly hard to find: Common sense.

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