Where is Common Sense Today?

Common sense means different things to different people.  It seems that in many ways what was right before is now wrong, and what was wrong is now right. 

According to Wiki ‘common sense’ is the basic ability to perceive, understand and judge things by most people.  We all know that in our diversified society that very rarely brings us to a mutual result.  So, what is really our collective denominator?  I believe that the only way that we can find a shared ‘sense’ is that we take God’s point of view. 

“In my opinion, if we have not achieved peace, it is because people forget its most fundamental aspect. Before we talk about peace among nations, we must settle our peace with God.”

~ Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012), Korean Spiritual Leader

 

Without getting into a religious discussion, we can all agree that we were born as men and women.  We all have a mind which allows us to think, feel and make decisions and a body through which we fulfill that which the mind directs us to do.

 

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was an American psychologist who put together a hierarchy of needs which describes the human needs in priority and ultimately culminates in self-actualization.  He suggested to focus on the positive qualities in people rather than treating them as ‘bag of symptoms.’

"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.

 We have it in our power to begin the world over again."
 ~ Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

When I was looking for more common sense connections I came across a site which refers to a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine (1737-1809) called: Common Sense.  The content of this document became the inspiration for the people of the 13 colonies to declare independence in 1776. 

Most people have maybe never heard of this document.  It spread like wildfire through the colonies and became the argument for freedom from the British rule.  Thomas Paine published the work at first anonymously because he wanted it to be focused on the content and the ideas rather than make a name for himself.  He wrote the article in a style which was understood by the common people.

Today is Thomas Paine’s birthday according to some accounts.  February 9^th is recorded in the ‘new style’ birth records.

"A body of men, holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody."

~ Thomas Paine

That brings me back to my suggesting to use a common denominator in the picture.  Unless we find our shared roots mankind can never find the solutions we are so desperately looking for.  Let us be accountable to the one God who created us all and who is waiting eagerly for us to have ‘common sense.’