Where has common sense gone?

During the past few months, through casual observations and daily reading of the newspaper, I have observed that a deficit of common sense exists in today’s society.

Allow me to offer some examples:

TV weather guessers, during the first and subsequent snowstorms, tell us that driving can be hazardous; therefore we should stay home and not drive unless absolutely necessary. They often are telling us this while they are standing next to a busy highway in a snowstorm. Shouldn’t common sense dictate that if driving in those conditions is not safe for the TV viewers then it is not safe for the TV “personality”?

Invariably, during the first snowfall in Eastern Washington many drivers slide off the road, crash into immovable objects and generally cause disruption on the highways. They refuse to slow down and adjust their driving habits to new driving conditions. Common sense would indicate that driving normal speeds in unsafe conditions is neither safe nor wise.

Recently a man wrote a letter to the editor grousing about why Congress does not pass a law increasing the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour and the state minimum wage is $7.35 an hour. The writer was attempting to make his case for a federal increase by saying that in Spokane, when the minimum wage went up to $7.35 per hour, his company gave everyone raises in his business. He further stated that it had not hurt the company. My common sense tells me that employers can give pay raises to employees anytime they want to. They don’t have to wait for a government mandate, do they?

Another letter to the editor was written by an Idaho resident who was criticizing a well-known company that recently moved to his town. He said the privately owned company moved to Idaho because of its lower wages, and by paying its employees a low wage the company was robbing blue collar workers of better wages in order to enrich owners. Common sense tells us that one cannot rob another person of something that person never had.

It was reported in the newspaper that the Spokane Transit Authority had given many of its managers a pay bonus. This aroused some ire in the community since STA had been experiencing a shortfall in its budget and had to ask the taxpayers for additional money. In answer to the complaints about how STA had money for bonuses, but not enough for operations, the powers that be said it was a one-time pay raise, not a bonus. Common sense tells me that if it looks like a pig, oinks like a pig and feeds at the pig trough, then it is what it is.

Fire Department personnel stand at busy intersections throughout the city, once a year, with empty boots collecting money for a charity. They often move around and through traffic, while the traffic light is red, to get to the people who want to contribute. Common sense says this is a safety hazard and probably should not be allowed. Common sense, however, does prevail in that not all charitable organizations are allowed to solicit contributions in this manner.

The passing of the WASL test as a requirement for graduation from high school recently came under fire – again! A school superintendent on the West Side was quoted as saying; “You don’t take a week of a kid’s time and make that determine whether or not they get a diploma.” I thought the purpose of the WASL exam was to determine what the student had learned up until the time of testing and a passing score would show that he or she had learned enough to graduate. My common sense asks: How do you determine what students have learned unless you test them?

We can apply common sense even when others seem to have forgotten what it is.