COMMON SENSE #2 (Boundaries)
Would anyone now leave their house unlocked when they leave, or even when they are at home? Does anyone leave their car unlocked? Their place of business? Would anyone not try to prevent disease or virus or infection from entering their body? Protection, security, safety, prevention: we live with all of these daily. Life is unthinkable without them. Our cities, towns, organizations, societies and our country have laws for the above. We live with them daily and abide by them and in all of them there are penalties for infractions. This insures that all citizens may be safe and secure and live without constant daily fear. Our military, our police, our doctors, lawyers and judges are all supposed to enforce and interpret the laws that our representatives have drawn up. Our government itself with its executive, legislative and judicial branches as checks and balances is supposed to maintain our systems of safety and security so that we don’t live in fear from month to month and year to year.
When all of this is working properly, then all of the above is possible. We trust in our system of government which is based on the very simple premises of common sense and logic. Common sense should permeate our society. It makes the normal interactions of normal people possible, actions such as driving a car, waiting in lines patiently, crossing a street, helping someone in need. All of these mean that our existence is assured. Problems are caused when common sense is blurred or when there is a mental breakdown either individually or collectively. If your plumbing or electricity breaks down you either fix it or have someone else fix it. The same with your car, and any of your body parts or functions. This thinking is logical and depends upon common sense. But what happens when common sense gets blurred and our mental capacity gets impaired either individually or collectively? When this happens we have breakdowns in our daily living, our bodies, our conveniences and our systems of government. The question becomes “how do we fix it?”
It only takes one person with common sense and the will to use it to fix things. Sometimes there is such a person and sometimes there is not. When there is, the mentally impaired will not immediately recognize the need and value and the necessity of the “fixer.” How do we distinguish between a true leader who is altruistic (and knowledgeable and competent), and an anarchist or fascist or socialist who wants only personal control and absolute power over everything and everyone? There is only one way: the use of common sense, logic and dependable information gleaned by dependable education.
When all are blinded by the expedient, common sense needs to prevail. It may begin with one person, but it needs to spread through the whole populace. The value of common sense in our leaders and citizens and in ourselves must be recognized in order for us to live our lives without fear. Common sense means: locking your house, your car and your business, supporting our military and our police, using our medical facilities and being financially responsible. Our credit cards depend on this. We are indentified by them and by our license to drive. These guarantee that we are responsible. When we write a check we are connected to a bank and we are indentified. Our society is permeated with our connections and our identifications which validate us as being responsible. When we vote for our leaders we are identified. All of this is based on common sense, and common sense like freedom, takes work. Our minds and our freedoms aren’t free. We must be constantly vigilant against those whose idea of common sense is mentally blurred and would little by little erode the structure of our society and its laws which give us freedom.
The structure of our music mirrors the structure of our society or the eroding of it. The aimless lack of structure in our music is a warning to be vigilant and active. Heed it! Listen actively! Be discriminating with your listening and viewing. Think: “Common sense…!