Common sense is extinct

Common Sense, once ubiquitous and universal, sadly is extinct.

Once, Common Sense flourished across the Americas; surprisingly, it was rarely seen in England, France, the Vatican, the Middle East, and never in Asia. First identified and classified by Thomas Paine in his seminal work meekly titled, “Common Sense,” it proliferated along the 18th century Eastern Seaboard especially in Philadelphia, New York, and the newly created District of Columbia.

Unfortunately, Common Sense succumbed to avarice, power, and politics. It migrated westward to the prairies and farmlands of Middle America. Ultimately, Common Sense floundered with the parasites of laws, rules, mandates, instructions, policies, bureaucratic guidelines, and systemic convention.

The final known element of Common Sense was ruthlessly slain by Big Business, the Industrial/Military Complex, and political action committees.

Scientists have warned that the extinction of this single species may endanger the entirety of humanity. The Republican Party praised the loss of Common Sense as an eradication of a public pest. The Democratic Party has proffered a bill to spend $2 trillion to build a monument to Common Sense and to create a new federal bureau to protect people from themselves.

The Church prayed for the repose of the soul of Common Sense.

Stephen D. Regan

Cedar Rapids