Common Sense

[commonsensecommentary]

“We must be brave enough to not allow the coarsest and loudest to convince others to abandon decency, caring, and self-respect. The monsters among us believe that degrading others can magically validate their own twisted lives, and the moral relativists that rule our chattering class of soulless intellectuals will demand dogmatic (and dog-like) obedience to evil because for some reason we are supposed to be open-minded about abuse.”

America's Struggles: Navigating Societal and Financial Chaos

Explore the societal challenges facing America today, from economic struggles to emotional disconnection and the urgent need for community c

[commonsensecommentary]

“You know, it’s not parent-shaming to say that you should know where your children are at 10, 11, 12 o’clock at night, when you have a 12-year-old or a 13-year-old. . .”

This quote from the article explains just as plain as day how so many parents have simply stopped parenting—and we all pay the price for their neglect.

'Teen Takeovers' Revive Chicago Debate Over Curfews And Parental Accountability

Large Near West Side and Hyde Park gatherings have alderpeople again weighing stricter rules to combat them, while the mayor sees programmin

[commonsensecommentary]

“A while back I purchased the reading textbook I was using in 5th grade back in 1969 as a used book from Amazon, and I was astonished to find that the material was so entertaining and challenging. The stories were set on the American frontier, the South American pampas, a Viking village, and Thomas Jefferson’s home in Monticello and coupled with selections from Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot—and even the Book of Job. Speaking as an educator, it was enough to drive me crazy when I consider the thoroughgoing ignorance of history and our world culture that is now commonplace among high school graduates—and often leaves them staring uncomprehendingly at even modestly challenging readings.”

Addressing the Decline of Reading Skills in American Students

Explore the crisis in American reading skills as high school students struggle with comprehension, impacting their futures in college and ca

[commonsensecommentary]

“The magic of real estate means it is well-nigh impossible to have a reasoned discussion about the catastrophic academic shortcomings of so many of our public schools because very few people living in any community around the nation actually have an interest in having that discussion—lest it take money right out of their pockets.  We instead insist that, although educational problems may exist in some awful neighborhood very far away from us, our own schools are excellent, our own students are well prepared for future success—and my own ridiculously overpriced home is worth every penny of the asking price on the offer sheet my real estate agent just handed to you.”

(From my blog archive)

Real Estate Values: Why We Don’t Talk About Middle-Class School Reform

We have now spent many decades and uncounted hundreds of billions of dollars trying to attain a single goal: improving our often deficient p

[commonsensecommentary]

“No one should be surprised if the trade-off for these no-strings-nor-consequences-attached cultural norms is a toxic environment that encourages the worst sort of personal behavior. These are simply two sides of the same coin, and we are now paying the inevitable price for allowing this nonsense to become our ugly daily reality. Unless we are willing to leverage this unique cultural and political moment into a broader discussion of our broken and misguided personal and societal values, we will see no end to the epidemic of sexual harassment and abuse in our nation.”

“We have lots and lots of laws; we now need a counter-revolution of respect for ourselves and others.”

(From my blog archive)

Let’s Talk About Sexual Harassment

  The list of powerful and prominent men who are leering, suggesting, groping, fondling, and forcing expands every day. This has resulted in

[commonsensecommentary]

“Everyone now knows that fraud and theft are everywhere—and generally go unpunished. The overpaid consultants and duplicitous talking heads often seem unaware of the raw anger running through so much of our nation—their utter befuddlement regarding the election and re-election of President Trump perfectly illustrates their obliviousness—and I expect the election cycles this year and beyond are going to pack a unexpected wallop for the felons and fools now in elected office.”

“It is not revolution that is in the air—it is disgust. Those who expect “business as usual” are in for a heck of a shock, and the smooth talkers and sleaze bags who have profited from manipulating our good will and patriotism for many years are likely to be stunned by our snarling citizenry.”

The Decline of Quality: From Durable Goods to Disposables

Explore the shift in consumer quality and values from the past to present and discover the societal effects of disposable products and polit

[commonsensecommentary]

It speaks to a fatal flaw in our educational systems that so many college students (and professors!) are incapable of handling ideas, opinions, and values that differ from their own. Debate and discussion must be at the center of the higher educational experience, but apparently many campuses still find this shockingly stressful.

California colleges are seeing a rise of conservative voices. Some classes are tense

Turning Point USA chapters are growing on California campuses after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as tensions rise both in and out of the cl

[commonsensecommentary]

“Parents have many very good reasons to be terrified about the safety of their children, but the violence and perversion of our culture is not conducive to safety for anyone of any age. Even those who are not parents need to now be on their guard because arrest is now often a prelude to release without charges, so predators and psychopaths now roam free and easy among us.”

Finding Peace Amid Chaos: Navigating Modern Life's Stress

Explore the deep need for peace in today's noisy world, uncovering the struggles of generations seeking solace amidst chaos.

[commonsensecommentary]

Public schools are a perfect example of staid methodology jammed deep into a voluminous book of rules that will never react positively to change or new ideas—particularly because any systemic change is bound to ruffle the feathers of some constituency that depends on the local schools for paychecks, services, or more intangible community benefits.

Unfortunately, too often the dialogue with local schools regarding amazing new ideas and practices boils down to “tell me what you want and I’ll tell you why you can’t have it.” Why? Because there is little actual consequence for ongoing failure—and everyone inside the system, including the students, knows that.

(From my blog archive)

Can Teachers Drive Conversation About School Reform If They Don’t Believe Change Is Needed?

When I published a commentary in my local newspaper a few years ago entitled “Why Do Our Public Schools Never Improve?” the comments posted

[commonsensecommentary]

“It doesn’t help that we go out of our way to teach students—literally, it’s the course content your child is studying right now in college—that contemporary America is a wonderland of bigotries aimed at frustrating their aspirations and crushing their dreams. This makes life no better for many because it discourages the self-examination of one’s effort and abilities that is the precursor to self-improvement and success. Learning to wallow in one’s victimization is the ultimate privileging of feelings over facts, and it destroys young lives before they even start out by turning many potential friends and mentors into an unnecessary enemies, which will ensure the frustration and failure so many are experiencing (and carefully documenting on their social media accounts) in America today.”

Learning To Fail Life In College

As anyone who has ever been a classroom teacher will tell you, students are sometimes unhappy with their grades. I was generally able to wor

[commonsensecommentary]

“The self-styled and coddled revolutionaries who now rule both our classrooms and schools of education can barely conceal their contempt for a country that has granted them the incredible privilege of educating our young.  Our reward for the faith we have placed in these institutions and individuals is an army of provocateurs who teach generation after generation of students that America is a land of oppression and brutality that must be scoured from the face of the earth.  Their better replacement for the freest and most tolerant nation the world has ever known apparently involves grinding our freedoms to dust under an implacable bureaucratic boot—which perhaps should alert us that this presumed utopia is not a good idea at all.”

To Save Our Nation, We Must First Reform Our Schools

Protest and American democracy are two sides of the same coin. The consent of our citizens cannot be secured without listening to their grie

[commonsensecommentary]

“We are not allowed to doubt that we are only a few short years away from our planet becoming uninhabitable. Or that all of our personal and societal problems are due to bigotries that many times seem either imaginary or grossly exaggerated to benefit those who profit from anger. Or that illegal immigration benefits our country despite the costs to our nation in terms of health, safety, and public aid. Or that Marxist/Socialist tax and spending schemes will turn our country into a paradise on earth. Or that people can choose their own gender, even if they are too young to choose even their own bedtimes. Or that government programs are always beneficial, despite the many examples of fraud and abuse that are uncovered on a daily basis. Finally, are not allowed to doubt that America is an intrinsically evil nation despite having acted as the guarantors of freedom around the world with our treasure and blood for well over a century—just ask any Leftist Humanities professor.”

The Dangers of Suppressing Doubt in Today's Society

Explore how doubt serves as a critical safeguard against deception, revealing the dangers of unquestioned beliefs in today's society.

[commonsensecommentary]

Just a reminder regarding why stupidity has become an epidemic.

School’s Out

I was recently perusing my local newspaper and came upon a not-quite-surprising statistic: The high school in the town where I live has the

[commonsensecommentary]

Yet another way in which we are still paying the price for 4 long years of Biden’s extremist and un-American administration.

Spirit Airlines Collapse Turns Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s "Biden Win" Into Travel Chaos - Tampa Free Press

The total shutdown of Spirit Airlines this weekend has turned a high-profile regulatory victory into a crisis for thousands of travelers and

[commonsensecommentary]

I wrote this just 1 month into the Great Covid Hoax. It still saddens me to think about how we were convinced/forced to go along with this insanity. Could we be fooled again? I hope not!

Comply And Die

Over the past several months our nation—and most of our world—has been engaged in an unprecedented experiment with home restrictions and inv

[commonsensecommentary]

“Many parts of our once-great cities already have been all but abandoned, and these desolate areas might offer the best starting points for rebuilding an urban manufacturing base, but this cannot happen until these same cities have new leaders who do not pander, lie, and line their own pockets through public office—oblivious to the suffering of their citizens. We must hope that salvation for our cities is possible, but this might depend more on what happens on Election Days in the years ahead than any other factor.”

A Return To Manufacturing Could Save Our Cities

Having visited there some decades ago, I recently fell into learning about the precipitous decline of Portland, Oregon. One video that I vie

[commonsensecommentary]

“Where once parenting and teaching was all about protecting the children in your care from undue stress or adult concerns so that they could develop with a feeling of personal safety, now many adults seem to have abandoned this mission altogether.  For reasons that range from the political to the foolish to the personal to the selfish, the unwillingness—or inability—of many adults to provide a safe and stable home or learning environment offloads their own fears onto vulnerable young minds.  This is a crushing abdication of responsibility that is helping to drive skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety in our youth.  Given their natural curiosity about what is perturbing the adults—plus their immature attraction to the morbid and bizarre—their own access to the Internet provides young people with the unfortunate opportunity to mimic their elders and easily locate fear-mongering material that only serves to further inflame and confuse their minds and emotions.  Growing up to be a happy and resilient adult is difficult under the best of circumstances; the combination of overwrought adults and overstimulating technology makes it nearly impossible today.”

The Age Of Anxiety: Adult And Child Edition

I am a news junkie.  I have been as long as I can remember.  I was limited to three news networks and the periodical reading room of my loca