Obit for Common Sense

AN OBITUARY in the London Times recently caught our situation in South Africa aptly:

“Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

Reports of a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly pupil only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost a lot of ground as churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a major beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home without the burglar suing for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up all will to live, preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; by his wife, Discretion; by his daughter, Responsibility and his son Reason.

He is survived by five stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, I’m A Victim and Pay me for Doing Nothing.

Not many attended Common Sense’s funeral, so few realised he was gone. — Denise Y Fielding, Bonza Bay