The
Art of Common Sense
Wilferd A. Peterson
Common
sense is a personal compass for guidance around the
rocks and shoals of life.
Common
sense is not based on theory; it is not a
hypothesis. It is life acted out, it is
discoveries made in the crucible of existence.
It is the tried and tested experiences of humankind.
Common
sense sits in judgment on the centuries, on every
science, every religion, every art, every
government. It is based on what has been
proved true, sound and practical.
Common
sense is the voice of the ages. It is the
distilled essence of what people have learned about
life as expressed in the proverbs and maxims of all
nations. "That person is happy who lives
on his or her own labor," observed the
Egyptian. "Just scale and full measure
injure no person," recorded the Chinese.
"Examine what is said and not who speaks,"
said the Arabian. "An idle brain is the
devil's workshop," wrote the English. . . .
Common
sense is pragmatic. It is what William James
called "the cash value of an idea."
It is a method that works, a truth that can be
applied.
Common
sense is the common denominator of intelligence, the
key to right answers.
Common
sense recognizes the utter senselessness of war, the
irrationality of using death, suffering and
destruction as a way of settling disputes.
Common
sense observes that crime does not pay, that murder
will be found out, that the law of compensation
works relentlessly and cannot be escaped.
Common
sense is the rock on which every enduring
institution and organization must be built.
Common
sense is the law of God written into the nature of
the universe. It is the sum total of the
workable findings of people in their long evolution
toward the light.
Common
sense is dynamic, not static. It changes as
time goes on.
The
art of common sense is applying the best wisdom we
know today based on all our yesterdays.
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