OPINION: 'Common sense' all we need?

But “common sense” when applied to potential elected officials means something else. It is a dismissal of those who are educated and successful in their careers. When someone says we need a congressman with “common sense,” what the speaker really means is someone not encumbered by higher education.

In Georgia — we know where Georgia ranks in education, so this is no surprise — someone with “common sense” means a blue-collar worker off the assembly line, out of the grounds maintenance crew — the hourly worker, not the executive vice president. Someone with “common sense” is the guy who changes his own oil or sharpens his own chain saw and who goes to H & R Block to get his Short Form filled out every year.
That’s the mythical person being referenced when you hear that plea for someone with “common sense” to be elected as mayor, commission chairman or even to Congress.

I’d prefer candidates with uncommon sense. Give me men or women who are smart, articulate and principled. It’s easy to find the first two characteristics; it’s the third that causes the problems. How about we elect candidates with the uncommon sense to recognize and avoid a conflict of interest, with the uncommon sense to quit schmoozing with the affluent and well-connected to the detriment of the masses and with the uncommon sense to retain their principles amidst the allure of power and the siren call of partisanship?

“Common sense” is the call for the election of Joe the Plumber who, as you recall, was not actually a licensed plumber. The idea is that “regular guys” (or gals) would be better at running City Hall or the U.S. Senate, that blue-collar workers would perform better in the government cauldron than not just our incumbents, but better also than the businessmen or professionals who offer for election.

The problem in Congress, in the state legislature, and in local government isn’t a lack of common sense. It’s a lack of principled leadership, the failure of men and women to use their common sense, their knowledge of what is really right, because of the temptations of power or politics or fear of not being re-elected or of disappointing supporters. It’s taking the easy way out instead of sticking with the right but difficult path.

Common sense is common enough. What we need are people with principles and the guts to stick to their principles. And that is not common at all.

Mark Beardsley is the editor of The Commerce News. He lives in Commerce.