Class Note 1985
Issue
I had occasion recently to re-read Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. I say “re-read” as this 18th-century pamphlet falls under the category of those literary works one “must have read”—a presumption that graduates of higher education, no doubt, presume about a lot of things. While I cannot honestly attest to this presumption, I will stick by the assertion, at least for this column (did I tell you I was a French major?). Anyway, more relevant than the content of the pamphlet in which Paine outlines the case for the independence of the colonies from British rule—an overly simplistic summation, I know, but just indulge me all of you legitimate historians (did I tell you I was a French major?)—it was the simplicity of the title that caught my eye.
Common sense seems to be in very short supply these days, “that which people would consider prudent and of sound judgment…based upon what they see as knowledge held by people ‘in common’ ” (source: Wikipedia). Just imagine the progress that could be made if some plain old common sense was applied to all those issues floating around these days: healthcare reform, reducing the national debt, the war in Afghanistan, Social Security, energy conservation. If we could quiet the rhetoric for a while we might actually be able to communicate with one another and find some common ground toward progress. But who would actually want to do that?
I recently read about a 6-year-old boy in Delaware who is facing 45 days suspension from school for having brought his Cub Scout utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. Excited about joining the Scouts, this first-grader was no doubt just looking to gain kudos with his pals during sharing. Instead he is deemed to have violated his school’s “zero tolerance” policy on weapons and is in reform school. Now I do not doubt that there are some very serious threats every day in schools nationwide, but please! If this is not the Death of Common Sense (yet another topic we could dialogue about courtesy of Philip K. Howard’s manifesto by the same name) I do not know what is! Lawsuits will no doubt be flying on this one for years to come.
Most of us encounter numerous day-to-day occasions when a dose of common sense would be a welcome reprieve. Here are a few of my favorites: common sense No. 1: do not park in the drive-thru lane at school pickups (definitely hazardous to your health); common sense No. 2: when the temperature has dropped below 50 degrees swap those flip flops for some real shoes (if you have had success convincing a teenager of this one, let me know!); common sense No. 3: if you are running a fever stay home (can you say “swine flu”?). And my all-time favorite—common sense No. 4: If you are approaching your 25th college reunion this June 2010, make every effort to attend!
Common sense will have, no doubt, led you to conclude that there was an absolute dearth of classmate news. I could share the news that John MacManus and yours truly were selected as Class Secretaries of the Year at the October 2009 Class Officers Weekend in Hanover. But that would imply that we were doing something other than filling this column with a seemingly coherent rambling on a seemingly relevant topic (did I tell you I was French major?). So allow me to conclude with a plea: Send news!
And please heed common sense—No. 4 noted above. All the best to all of you!
—Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com; John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com
Jan - Feb 2010
I had occasion recently to re-read Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. I say “re-read” as this 18th-century pamphlet falls under the category of those literary works one “must have read”—a presumption that graduates of higher education, no doubt, presume about a lot of things. While I cannot honestly attest to this presumption, I will stick by the assertion, at least for this column (did I tell you I was a French major?). Anyway, more relevant than the content of the pamphlet in which Paine outlines the case for the independence of the colonies from British rule—an overly simplistic summation, I know, but just indulge me all of you legitimate historians (did I tell you I was a French major?)—it was the simplicity of the title that caught my eye.
Common sense seems to be in very short supply these days, “that which people would consider prudent and of sound judgment…based upon what they see as knowledge held by people ‘in common’ ” (source: Wikipedia). Just imagine the progress that could be made if some plain old common sense was applied to all those issues floating around these days: healthcare reform, reducing the national debt, the war in Afghanistan, Social Security, energy conservation. If we could quiet the rhetoric for a while we might actually be able to communicate with one another and find some common ground toward progress. But who would actually want to do that?
I recently read about a 6-year-old boy in Delaware who is facing 45 days suspension from school for having brought his Cub Scout utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. Excited about joining the Scouts, this first-grader was no doubt just looking to gain kudos with his pals during sharing. Instead he is deemed to have violated his school’s “zero tolerance” policy on weapons and is in reform school. Now I do not doubt that there are some very serious threats every day in schools nationwide, but please! If this is not the Death of Common Sense (yet another topic we could dialogue about courtesy of Philip K. Howard’s manifesto by the same name) I do not know what is! Lawsuits will no doubt be flying on this one for years to come.
Most of us encounter numerous day-to-day occasions when a dose of common sense would be a welcome reprieve. Here are a few of my favorites: common sense No. 1: do not park in the drive-thru lane at school pickups (definitely hazardous to your health); common sense No. 2: when the temperature has dropped below 50 degrees swap those flip flops for some real shoes (if you have had success convincing a teenager of this one, let me know!); common sense No. 3: if you are running a fever stay home (can you say “swine flu”?). And my all-time favorite—common sense No. 4: If you are approaching your 25th college reunion this June 2010, make every effort to attend!
Common sense will have, no doubt, led you to conclude that there was an absolute dearth of classmate news. I could share the news that John MacManus and yours truly were selected as Class Secretaries of the Year at the October 2009 Class Officers Weekend in Hanover. But that would imply that we were doing something other than filling this column with a seemingly coherent rambling on a seemingly relevant topic (did I tell you I was French major?). So allow me to conclude with a plea: Send news!
And please heed common sense—No. 4 noted above. All the best to all of you!
—Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com; John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com