Common Sense Is on Vacation: The Impact of the Absence of Pragmatic Thinking in American Society

By Dr. Percy “Chico” Caldwell

The motivation to write the book Common Sense Is on Vacation stemmed from one question applied to breakdowns in several major areas or components of our society: individuals; couples; marriage; communities; secondary, college, and university systems; government; and religion. There is an obvious measure of malfunction or dysfunction in each of these major areas of society. What happened to our world?

Very apparently, one thing is missing from our system of thinking and decision-making process. The author believes that common sense is on vacation. We have to bring it back.

This book walks you through each of the major social components showing where, if common sense had been anywhere in the room, these breakdowns of marriage and family structure, school systems, and government would be minimized considerably and sometimes eliminated.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524505523

Dr. Percy “Chico” Caldwell

About the Author Percy L. Caldwell, PhD Dr. Caldwell’s nickname is Chico. He earned an undergraduate degree from Miles College, Birmingham, Alabama; a master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and a PhD from Iowa State University. His entire career was in higher education as a part of faculty, a coach, and an athletics administrator with keen interest in the behavioral sciences, health, and wellness. He was a very talented four-sport athlete in high school and attended college on a full athletics scholarship. Chico also had musical talent, played in the band, and was a lead tenor in the school choir. His mother was the only one thinking or suggestion to him that he should focus his training and education on behavioral sciences. Chico’s mom and dad always spoke to him in common-sense terms no matter what the topic of discussion was. He is aware when common sense is missing in a decision. If you want to get Chico to talk, bring up a topic about human behavior.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Percy Caldwell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/27/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

733173

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1    Common Sense Is on Vacation

Chapter 2    Common Sense Parenting

Chapter 3    A System of Systems

Chapter 4    Common Sense Communities

Chapter 5    Common Sense Education

Chapter 6    Common Sense Relationships

Chapter 7    Common Sense in Leadership

Chapter 8    Common Sense Government

Chapter 9    The Passing of Common Sense

PREFACE

T HERE WAS A time when the presence of common sense was widespread and lived among us. Now it seems that no truer statement has been said than this popular cliché: common sense isn’t so common anymore. This book was written to address that interesting statement and to explore what has happened to common sense. Where did it go and when did it leave? Will it return? Is common sense on vacation, retired, or just dead?

Two individuals inspired me to write this book, my father and mother, who were on the opposite ends of the educational spectrum. My father was a college educator, a science and physics professor, while my mother’s highest level of educational achievement did not extend beyond the tenth grade. In the field of science, my father was a genius and viewed the world through the lens of an exact scientist. He believed there is no effect without a cause, no such thing as coincidence, and everything happens according to a scientific plan. He believed there is an operational system behind every functional operation, and that without it, that operation becomes dysfunctional. My mother, also a genius, saw the world through the lens of her spirituality and the soul of mankind. She believed everything happens according to God’s plan. Life is about never placing yourself above or below anyone, and loving and caring about yourself first makes you able to love and care about others. She believed that behind every functional operating system, there is God; without him, functional systems become dysfunctional. My mother believed that if the land needed rain, praying would bring rain. My father, on the other hand, believed that prayer is fine, but if you want rain, you needed to pray for atmospheric causes that produce rain. If the right amount of moisture, humidity, high and low pressure, hot and cold air, and other exact scientific conditions come together, rain would naturally be the outcome.

I grew up in a household where common sense ruled. No decision was made without evaluating the cause and effect, or better stated, without evaluating the consequences. Life seemed so simple then. My siblings and I were taught to understand the laws of science (Dad’s views) and the golden rules (Mom’s views). These laws still exist. They are based on simple common sense thinking, but very few seem to pay any attention to them anymore. I really don’t know when, where, or how it happened, but common sense disappeared and is not so common anymore. The concept of me, myself, and I—common sense begins with self. As individuals, we form and shape the first community. That community is made up of me, myself, and I. When you think about an individual’s thoughts about themselves, there is a me side, a myself side, and an I side. Thinking is controlled or governed by what I think of and want for me, what is best for myself, and what I want out of life. When common sense is involved, a person is not too self-centered. Before you can be considered of others, you must be considered of yourself. Before you can truly love another, you must love yourself. It comes down to how we think about and evaluate ourselves. We believe we are separate and distinct from others.

An example of this is a two-or three-month-old child who begins to become aware of his relationship with other people or objects in his surroundings, by such interactions as getting a smile from a loving parent, or touching a mobile and noticing its movement. With the categorical self-realizing that he or she exists as a separate being, the child becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the world. Just as other objects, including people, have properties (big, small, smooth, rough, etc.) that can be experienced, the child becomes aware that he or she also has properties and later learns how to define them in terms of gender, age, and the like. How children view themselves is very concrete (regarding their hair color, height, and favorite things). Later, they begin to internalize comparative evaluations and how others see them. Self-image is the view you have of yourself (me). Self-esteem is how you view your self-worth (myself). Ideal self is how you wish you were really like. And when common sense is involved, a balance is created when your ideal self and actual experiences are closely compatible. That is where the me, myself, and I are all on the same page. Rarely, if ever, does a total state of conformity exist; all people experience a certain amount of inconsistency. Common sense knows that for a person to achieve self-actualization, they must be in a state of balance. Self-image builds gradually throughout life starting at infancy.

Those initial years have a decisive influence in shaping one’s self-image, and changes occur throughout life. Self-image changes as a person adapts to changes in physical, mental, and social intellect, which occur in all of us. Self-image is one of the main factors that influence human behavior. Self-image is an organized system of assessments that a person ascribes to and attributes to self and behaves accordingly.

A different person develops over a lifetime, and that developing person dictates how they view the system itself: physical and personality traits, difficulties in different areas of our life, and aspirations for the future. Self-image is an important factor in shaping behavior. For example, a person who appreciates friends feels safe in society and tends to tie knots faster than a person who believes that he is not sociable. William Pitts, a major