"The Death of Common Sense
By Lori Borgman

Three yards of black fabric enshroud my computer terminal. I am
mourning the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.

His obituary reads as follows:

Common Sense, aka C.S., lived a long life, but died from heart failure
at the brink of the millennium. No one really knows how old he was,
his birth records were long ago entangled in miles and miles of
bureaucratic red tape.
Known affectionately to close friends as Horse Sense and Sound
Thinking, he selflessly devoted himself to a life of service in homes,
schools, hospitals and offices, helping folks get jobs done without a
lot of fanfare, whooping and hollering. Rules and regulations and
petty, frivolous lawsuits held no power over C.S.

A most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to
know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early
bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet. C.S.
also developed sound financial policies (don't spend more than you
earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adult is in charge, not the
kid) and prudent dietary plans (offset eggs and bacon with a little
fiber and orange juice).

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the
Technological Revolution and the Smoking Crusades, C.S. survived
sundry cultural and educational trends including disco, the men's
movement, body piercing, whole language and new math.

C.S.'s health began declining in the late 1960s when he became
infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus. In the following
decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of
overbearing federal and state rules and regulations and an oppressive
tax code. C.S. was sapped of strength and the will to live as the Ten
Commandments became contraband, criminals received better treatment
than victims and judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy
Scouts to professional baseball and golf. His deterioration
accelerated as schools implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of
6-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing classmates,
a teen suspended for taking a swig of Scope mouthwash after lunch,
girls suspended for possessing Midol and an honor student expelled for
having a table knife in her school lunch were more than his heart
could endure.

As the end neared, doctors say C.S. drifted in and out of logic but
was kept informed of developments regarding regulations on low-flow
toilets and mandatory air bags. Finally, upon hearing about a
government plan to ban inhalers from 14 million asthmatics due to a
trace of a pollutant that may be harmful to the environment, C.S.
breathed his last. Services will be at Whispering Pines Cemetery. C.S.
was preceded in death by his wife, Discretion; one daughter,
Responsibility; and one son, Reason. He is survived by two step-
brothers, Half-Wit and Dim-Wit.

Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Institute for Rational
Thought.