Anonymous- Geesh, I made it easy to find the post by topic. Do I have to do everything for you?

Superman- Always glad to engage in thoughtful conversations. I look forward to your return.

Superman- Common Sense refers to both avoiding patently stupid behavior, but also to a philosophy that espouses individual freedom so long as it harms no others, a shared sense of social duty and civic participation. It does not, as you analogize, resemble an argument with no basis in fact, which may, but is not always, a common sense solution to a problem. Common Sense requires an ability to back up ones action or philosophy with at least one of the following: fact, experience, concensus.

By no means is Common Sense a necessarily static set of rules, but an ever changing paradigm in accordance to the times in which one lives. Common Sense medical advice in the 1700’s was based on the best information available to the general population of physicians, but taken in today’s light, makes little sense at all.

And yet other things could be described as universally Common Sense. Actions that cause others harm are eschewed by the great majority of humans, and thus it becomes Common Sense that to harm another will result in your own loss of freedom or life. This is but one example of this kind of Common Sense.

Cultural norms vary widely and what may seem as Common Sense to one group of people may seem ludicrous to another group. In this manner, Common Sense may not be universal per se, but if taken at a more fundamental level, and removing the cultural bias from the equation, actions or words can be defined in terms of Common Sense by whether they deprive others of freedom, harm others, or subject others to an unjust act.

In cases where morality, religion, or tradition conflict with modern interpretations of Common Sense, I think one should apply a simple test: Does this act harm anyone else purposely or thoughtlessly for no reason other than to subvert their free will? Does this act cause harm to another, their property, or their freedom for no other reason than to enforce my own opinions? If the answer to either of these is “Yes,” then perhaps one is not acting with Common Sense, but instead with selfish sense.

At least, this is what it means to me. Glad to have your comments.

Damascene- Thanks for the support. I think there are a lot of people like this, just maybe too busy or unsure of how to voice their support. Come back again!

Chandira, OKDem, HI. Windspike, & David- Thanks! Vacation was great (and a little spendier than I planned, but hey- It’s VACATION!) but it’s good to be back. Hope you got a chance to do some reading while I was away.

CoolAqua- I snagged the Coexist banner from ShaeNC at Constantly Amazed )link in the Blogroll). Feel free to copy it to your own site. Hope I left you with some good reading!

Anonymous- I am glad you enjoy the site, but would be even more glad to have a relevant comment on the topic, or anything besides a pitch for your website. Do come back, but please leave your advertisements at home.

God Bless America, God Save The Republic.

Bon voyage and enjoy. Just returned from two weeks away with a fresh perspective.

See you on the flip side.

CoolAqua