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In my personal and professional opinion, yes, common sense is long gone. Did I get your attention with that one? Honestly, I am not sure if I mean common sense or if I just have been experiencing so many crazy silly things lately that it just boggles my mind the way people react or don’t do things that I think are no-brainers! Maybe they are pet peeves? Please, hear me out and let me know after reading this rant, is common sense long gone? Has intelligence been lost?
What Exactly is Common Sense?
noun
sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence
-Dictionary.com
What an interesting definition…sound, practical judgment…normal native intelligence. Sometimes, basic definitions do not do the term justice. At times, I often look at similar words to see if it helps in understanding the definition. In an attempt to be more forward-thinking I introduce…my word cloud:
Interesting synonyms here. Words that stick out to me are…intelligence -duh, logic – no not the artist and rationality – can’t we all just be reasonable and in the end just get along? To further explain my frustration, let me tell you about some of the things that have been happening recently that have inspired me to write this post. Ever time they happen, I cringe and immediately put it in my pet peeve jar. I can’t help it!
Pet Peeves
According to dictionary.com, the definition of a pet peeve is, “a particular and often continual annoyance; personal bugbear.” A bugbear? How adorable – not! When I read that I laughed with a bit of snarkiness. This 2020 year so far, all I keep repeating to myself is…UGH! I guess we all have our little bugbears and I am going to tell you about the ones that have been haunting me as of late.
Walking & running on the wrong side of the road.
Are humans vehicles? Back when I took driver education (a long, long time ago), I learned that bikes are considered vehicles and if you are riding a bicycle, you go with traffic and use hand signals for turning. Also learned…humans use sidewalks but if there are none, walk the opposite of traffic. THE OPPOSITE WAY OF TRAFFIC. Why on earth would you like to walk with traffic coming up behind you? The way people drive today is insane and people want to run and walk with traffic? NOT COOL and I just don’t get it. A pet peeve? Lack of common sense? Lack of intelligence?
Open when closed
Businesses that leave their ‘open’ sign visible, flashing, and/or blinking, after they have closed! Here is a silly story that has happened sporadically throughout my life. Imagine being in a car with someone who wanted to stop at a business because they thought it was open. However, everything was dark inside…except for the OPEN sign, which was flashing! Hello – does it look open to you? I’m sorry but why do we waste our time when clearly the business is closed? On the business side, don’t you have a closing checklist that has a checkbox labeled ‘make sure open sign is turned off/around’. Honestly, it really doesn’t make a business look good when the open sign is constantly on when they are closed – I can pick out a few businesses that do this way too often and it is quite annoying.
Dogs unleashed
Have you ever been to a park or in a neighborhood when you see a dog who appears to be running right at you? Fortunately, when this has happened to me the ‘owner’ or ‘walker’ has been able to call the dog back. However, many are not so lucky. My husband was riding his bicycle on a bike path where the law is to leash your dog. In one instance, an unleashed dog pushed him right off of his bike (and he was going at a good clip when this happened). The person with the dog was mad…the dog owner was mad? The dog owner was walking his dog illegally!
Wearing all black at night
Why would someone do this? I see this weekly. People walking at night on the streets (sometimes the wrong way) and sidewalks wearing black with no lights on or reflective clothing. I have heard some people say they don’t really care. Would they care if they ended up in the hospital? I think yes. Are these folks just looking for a payday? Do they take no responsibility if they get hit while it was dark because they blended into the night? I am a runner so I have a lighted vest and some reflective clothing (great deals here). I remember being reminded to make sure I got those things when I first started running in the dark. Now, I urge everyone else to do so, even if you are walking – it can save your life!
Other pet peeves include but not limited to…
- Vehicles not stopping at a crosswalk in a village-setting.
- Not using blinkers – just because you are in the right-hand lane doesn’t mean you are turning right! Too many accidents!
- Merge doesn’t mean stop. Yield doesn’t mean stop.
- Not saying please and thank you-what happened to good manners?
Phew, this was great to get out of my system. My pet peeve jar is overflowing! What do you think? I am still not sure if many have lost their common sensibility or if these are just my pet peeves I witness each and every day and not only roll my eyes but cringe! I know, I know, control what you can control. But, it is always good to get things out in the open to at least feel a little better after voicing your frustrations.
all the best…*judean*
So, is common sense long gone in this world? Are my pet peeves legitimate? Is intelligence lost? Is there any hope for the future? Let me know in the comments below! I can’t wait to hear what you think!
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PS: Can you tell that I run outdoors? Four out of seven days a week I try and run outside whether it be on a bike path, in a park, neighborhood and if the weather is bad…the treadmill. Exercise is stress relief and I have a wellness and fitness section of my site that may interest you! I also think I may write about my running adventures soon since I do that a lot!
16 Comments
My mom’s favourite saying is “common sense is not so common!” I think it’s so accurate. It helps me rationalize with people that do things that go against “common knowledge”. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who talk to me when I’m on the phone!
I tend to agree with you! Case in point: Why is everyone buying water like crazy in the midst of Coronavirus outbreak? Will our water stop working?
This was our topic with my friends last week. Most of the people I know will hit hard when they read this. I don’t know if “common sense” is “common” anymore.
It is amazing to me how many of these things should just be common courtesy or common sense, but yet in this world of “self proclaimed rockstars” we all feel that we have every right to do as we please. Where exactly does one bubble end and another begin? Such an interesting topic for sure, it is like that old quote “it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye”, or some sues you for your dog biting them, or rear ends you for not using a turn signal then it is a issue because they have something gain.
I question human intelligence every day! Sometimes though I am pleasantly surprised, but it is rare!
This made me smile today! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a long list of pet-peeves. For me it’s when people say, “it is what it is” when clearly, only they can change the situation they’re in.
All so true! I’ve never followed the walk alongside traffic “rule” – I was an avid runner a few years ago & I ALWAYS ran on the opposite side of the street. I agree with you 100%, I’d rather see what was going on that having my back turned!
-Madi xo | http://www.everydaywithmadirae.com
Oh My Gosh…how is it possible that so many people are lacking in this area, lol. The ones that bother me the most are the ones that are lacking in that area while driving…its dangerous!
That certainly was a long list of frustrations there! I smiled along though (with you, not at you 😉 ) because so many of them have become every day occurrences, even though they do indeed seem to defy all logic!
To add to your list of pet peeves, good list btw…how about cyclists who don’t follow the rules? Wrong side of the road, not stopping at red lights etc… Also, bad mergers – both drivers who won’t let someone in, and the drivers who don’t know how to GET in… I could go on but I won’t! Great post, it we don’t laugh about this stuff, we’d cry!
YES! The reason I write that way is to let the pain pass and the laughter reign! Both of your pet peeves were on my long list 😉
Well, I never thought about common sense, but after reading your post, I think you are right! Most people don’t have any!
Common sense is intrinsically linked with critical thinking – definitely lacking, I agree! After a 25 year career of hiring people, I found the need to figure out interview questions, scenarios, etc., that helped ferret out these two things. Maybe these skill sets aught to be something companies train on – a competency of sorts!
Agree! Most managers and employees (in my HR experience) are afraid of the word competency. But I definitely feel it is very needed.
Great post! The unleashed dog thing really bothers me too! Especially when I am walking my own dog on a leash and have other unleashed dogs approach us. I worry about the safety of my dog!!
The unleashed person bothers me too…bc it can be a danger to others! As a momma to 5 kiddos, it always scares me bc a dog once attacked one of my kids (Praise God, He protected her and she was unharmed) but it still terrifies me. The dog owner may trust their dog but I do not!