It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense. This makes me forever ineligible for local public office. I mourn the passing of a constant friend, by the name of Common Sense, with the City Council’s creation of a foreign policy on Iraq. Common Sense lived a long life, but died with that council vote. I really don’t know how old she was, since her birth records were long ago lost in the city’s bureaucratic red tape and boondoggling.
Common Sense selflessly devoted her life to service in our local schools and churches. She helped establish care centers, attended community service club meetings, women’s clubs and helped folks by delivering warm meals without fanfare or foolishness. For a decade, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. She was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn’t always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies such as enlightening the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board not to spend more money than they receive. That momentary gifts raised by local PTAs should remain with the school that it was donated to. In fact, I last saw Common Sense arguing in favor of the playing fields that the Malibu Bay Company Agreement would bring at a town meeting.
Common Sense fashioned an unswerving parenting strategy-the adults are in charge, not the kids, and it’s okay to come in second. A veteran of failed social and financial strategies, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including collegiate panty raids, sight-reading and the illustrious educational experiment identified as New Math.
I really think that Common Sense lost her desire to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, federal judges stuck their noses in everything and city councilpersons embarked on establishing National Foreign Policies. Common Sense has been preceded in death by Truth and Trust, Discretion and Answerability. Not many of us attended her funeral because so few realized Common Sense was still alive.
Obligate the mayor to open each council meeting with this statement of understanding. “We are here to conduct only the business of the city.”
And that is all I have to say (sure).
Tom Fakehany