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Common Sense

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Common Sense

An endangered species?

from JoeUser Forums
“…Common sense is nothing more than the voices of the thousands and thousands of ghosts of our past.”

I have paraphrased this from Robert Pirsig’s book ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’. If this is indeed the case, then it appears a lot of people either no longer believe in ghosts or have some how become deaf to these voices. Common sense, along with personal responsibility, good manners and even grace under pressure all appear to be rare and perhaps even endangered characteristics these days. But why has this happened? Is it the desperate struggle to accumulate material possessions or the struggle to maintain sanity in the face of a seemingly endless barrage of temptations? Is it because we live in large, crowded and noisy cities because this is where the work we do can be found? Is it because television provides an endless supply of programming featuring egocentric people getting away with the sort of things our parents would have been horrified about?

I don’t have any answers, just a lot more questions. Some will come back here and undoubtedly say it is ‘the erosion of Christian values’, to which I will say right off the bat – don’t bother. I don’t believe this to be the case. If it were the case, then Australia would have a lot more problems than we do as we have a large multi-cultural, multi-religious population. I don’t doubt the problem is complex. I have a healthy layman’s interest in Sociology and a small understanding of how this affects humanity. I also believe I can still hear the 'ghosts' from my past, therefore I do have a modicum of common sense about the things I do and the way I live my life. I’m just hoping some else out there might give me some insight. Anyone?
misc
11,185 views 27 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top
Now... the little one's asleep and I will get off the trivialities and back on topic.

It's an interesting question that you pose about collective paranoia. Just after that Spanish train crash there was a high level of concern about terrorism in London. Many people chose to change the route they took to work in order to avoid certain possible danger zones. For example, the Picadilly Line on the tube is one of the major commuting lines. Some of the stops include Convent Garden, Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus, yet is also goes all the way through to Heathrow. It is also very, very far underground. If you are silly like me and choose to take the steps rather than the elevator at Convent Garden you will find that there are 192 in total. I believe that makes it about 12 stories underground. If a bomb were to go off on a train on this line there is really no possible way that you would survive. Due to the close proximity of other tube lines which are much closer to the surface, many people choose to travel on these instead. There was large public debate about the possible implementation of identity cards (even though no one could really explain how these were going to reduce the chance of terrorism). I live a street back from the Thames and see policemen - in cars, on horses or on foot - on a daily basis, patrolling the banks. Every few weeks an army helicopter can be seen and heard hovering over the river, search lights roaming about. Apparently this is because our area is about the right proximity from Heathrow to bomb a plane, or something, and cause the most amount of damage. But this is just hearsay - I'm not really properly informed.

But have I noticed much hysteria myself? Not really. Many people in London act pretty disaffected anyway - the good old English 'stiff upper lip' coping mechanism, so you don't tend to have as many people up in arms about issues as you find in Oz. My view is that if I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time then my number's up and there's not a lot I can do about it. For me, the worst effect terrorism can have is making people change their lifestyles, clouding their lives in fear and making them second guess everything. By just getting on with things (without being too lax) I think we are doing our best to combat and threat - real or perceived.

I know a family that lost their son in the Bali bombing and they have shown the most amazing amount of compassion and understanding - more than you'd expect anyone to have. They are terribly upset about their loss, but they know that they could have lost him to any other number of senseless deaths. You will always ask the question 'Why?' when someone dies, and when it is a result of terrorism it makes it so much harder not to turn your grief into debilitating anger. They have come to accept that he's gone and that the only way that they can honor his death is by living their lives as fully as possible. Their anger could have destroyed them, but their hope in life brought them through. And to me that is the only way to live.

That email will be on its way shortly...

Suz xxx
Reply #27 from JoeUser Forums Top
Mick and I are old friends. He was in a band called the Squealing Pygmies, based in Sydney and I was in a band called Twister, based in Canberra. We did a number of shows together in both locations and became friends. My band broke up and he went overseas and, apart from the odd phone call, we hadn't spoken for a number of years. I spoke to him after his Cockatoo Island set, which was a blinder. He was really pleased to see me but obviously very busy. I got a copy of his latest album, he signed it and we agreed to catch up soon. He's not doing so much of the falsetto stuff but he sounds really good. He also has a band called Monkeyboy, a two-peice (a bit of a cliche these days) but apparently they are really good. I'm looking forward to seeing him is this guise as well.

Toni and I have seen good bit of music so far this year, what with the BDO and Cockatoo Island. We only really went to see Gomez. It worked out ticket prices to see Gomez at the Enmore were about five bucks cheapter than Cockatoo, so it was a no brainer. We also got to see a little of Machine Gun Fellatio, and some folky girl whose name escapes me. We saw some of Coda (amazing vocals), then all of Machine Translations, who were just wonderful. We stuck around for a while to see Youth Group and that was pretty much the day.

Getting back to Oz and having to pay a fortune to see people again is going to kill me


T and I get Q magazine and it never ceases to amaze me how cheap it is to see music over your way. I think I'd be out every weekend virtually. Lucky you... How much longer have you got over there?

P.S. SIGNED POSTER? BASTARD!


Hah-hah (Nelson laugh) *giggle*

I'd like to think the reason you don't see anything is because Londoners are enlightened but I think your summation is right. It is probably their stiff upper lip mentality. I take the same view you do, though worded differently. I firmly believe in the Buddhist philosphy of trying to live every moment like it is my last and making sure I will be remembered as a good, honest person. It is hard to live up to it, but I try. Laughing at the ridiculousness of it all helps too.

For me, the worst effect terrorism can have is making people change their lifestyles, clouding their lives in fear and making them second guess everything. By just getting on with things (without being too lax) I think we are doing our best to combat and threat - real or perceived.


Damn this is good, Suz. You have put exactly as I feel about it really succintly. I actually also take this one step further and refuse to acknowledge the negativity this sort of thinking can breed. I don't want to seem insensitive to the concerns of others. I guess I just try and not let their fears get inside me.

They have come to accept that he's gone and that the only way that they can honor his death is by living their lives as fully as possible. Their anger could have destroyed them, but their hope in life brought them through. And to me that is the only way to live.


They sound like a wise family. It would be too easy to stay detached and angry and have everyone around them coddle them because of their loss. I'm so pleased to hear they've accepted it and are moving on with their lives. They are a true example of the deeper human spirit that exists in us all. (Wow, I think my 'your sounding like a hippy' alarm is going off). Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble and I look forward to your email.

Cheers and hugs to you,

Maso
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