Common Sense

As Ben Levin once said in an article, “one person’s prejudice is another person’s common sense.”

On the surface, common sense is reasonable and steady, not hysterical and impulsive. It rebels against self-delusion whether by willful ignorance or hypertrophied complication. It chooses ease over hardship, and effort over ease when effort is rewarded. It pretends to be intelligent without being intellectual. Passing itself off as neutral and temperate, neither fevered nor austere, bright not shiny, modest, not vain. Common sense asserts itself with such a rapid absence of ambiguity and thoroughness, destroying any patently ridiculous notions of complexity. It depicts the views of the Right as neutral and natural, while opposing positions are constructed as ‘political,’ defective, and contrary to common sense.

Common sense can be a paradox, though. On the one hand, a positive conception is common sense as the cultural knowledge of the community; community wisdom. On the other hand, common sense is over-simplification, a distorted vision, or at worst, false consciousness of how things are. It can keep power in the hands of those with the “right” knowledge, the “right” solutions, the Right solutions. Don’t think critically, people, be practical, use your common sense. Don’t ever, ever make the mistake of over-thinking things. Don’t argue – you can’t argue with common sense.

“So, if everyone gets a good education, the country will prosper, right?” Harpo the dog asked Humphrey.

This happened to be of Humphrey’s favorite common sense myths.

“Harpo, that is the logic behind a lot of policies, like the new Race to the Top in the United States!” Humphrey responded.

“Yes,” Harpo replied, eyes as wide as saucers. “And that policy was made up by very smart people!”

“You’d think so,” said Humphrey with a smirk. “But what if everybody in Toronto went out and got an MBA?”

Harpo cocked his head in thought. “That would be great, Humphrey! Then we’d be the most prosperous city ever!”

“But Harpo,” Humphrey asked. “Who would give us a groom? Who check our blood for heartworms every year? Who would make us our vente skinny lattes (hold the espresso) at Starbucks?”

Harpo cocked his head to the other side, and scratches his chin. “People?”

“What people?”

“Well, I suppose the people with the MBAs?” Harpo asked.

Humphrey smiled a wide smile. He exposed the theodicy of a certain brand of common sense. The poor are poor because they didn’t make the right choice, or even more simply, that’s just the way the egg rolls. But it’s not the natural order of things – it’s the world people created, the one that they perpetuate, reproduce, year after year, generation after generation. Humphrey knew that some people had to remain poor so that dogs like him could afford his vente skinny latte (hold the espresso).