Will Rogers complimented at least 30 people by saying they had “common sense” among other adjectives. This included Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and President Calvin Coolidge. In a similar vein, many people who knew Will Rogers complimented him for having “common sense.”  Will Rogers wrote, “You can’t legislate intelligence and common sense into people.”  (DT#2377, March 16, 1934)

Here are 17 current situations. For each one, do you think Will Rogers would declare it to be “common sense?”

1. A few governors have ordered all public schools to require students to wear masks.
2. A few governors have banned schools from requiring masks or will leave decisions up to local school districts and parents.
3. President Biden extended the “free rent” for 2 more months despite admitting it is unconstitutional.
4. There are 9 million job openings, but 2 million renters say they can’t afford to pay for a place to live. For most, wouldn’t it be common sense to say, “Get a job.”
5. Current policy allows immigrants to flock across the southern border, contact Uber for a ride, eat in local restaurants, and sleep free in motels.
6. President Biden blames governors of Texas and Florida for increasing cases of Covid while allowing immigrants with Covid to freely cross the Southern border.
7. With overwhelming chaos at the border, the undermanned Border Patrol and state law enforcement agencies are prevented from decisive action.
8. Residents of Hispanic heritage on our southern border resent the Federal government and those crossing the border illegally in mass.
9. Construction on the 30-ft wall was stopped Jan. 21, yet we continue paying contractors billions to guard their equipment and supplies while immigrants pour through the gaps.
10. Millions of immigrants here illegally have been waiting months or years for a judicial hearing. Instead of hiring more Judges and Prosecutors to speed up the process for determining asylum, the Feds want to hire more defense lawyers to represent them.
11. Millions of people in other countries waiting to immigrate here legally look at our President with disdain for letting others “cut in line.”
12. In cities with high crime rates, elected officials say the best way to reduce crime is to defund the police, add social workers, and empty their jails. For protection, they hire their own body guards, with taxpayer money.
13. On the news, we see thousands breaking the law every day by illegally entering the U.S. They receive free housing, medical care, food and transportation.
14. Potential criminals living here see these illegal immigrants and 2020 rioters as a role model. They see no negative consequence to committing a crime. Carry an empty bag into a store, fill it with all you can carry, and walk out. Even if arrested (which is unlikely), you get out of jail immediately and can steal from a different store the next day.
15. California is “housing” homeless people on extremely valuable popular beaches including the Will Rogers State Beach at Pacific Palisades. Why not move them a few miles inland where there is plenty of open land.
16. Much of that land is “open” only because regulations on water made it more profitable for land owners to sell the water rights instead of growing food crops they could produce with that water.
17. Donald Trump continues to claim he won the 2020 election.

Ok, what do you think? Have our leaders lost their common sense?

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Now of course [this disease] is a terrible serious thing, but the more serious a thing is, the more common sense would be used in handling it. They have gone so far in some cases that they are almost humorous, and in some cases have not gone far enough. You see it is the only disease that they know absolutely nothing about; still it has been in other states without all this hysteria.” (this disease? Foot and mouth disease, in cattle) WA #74, May 11, 1924

“There will never be any class of people in our country that can replace the old western cowman for common sense… and fine citizenship.”  DT#2606, Dec. 12, 1934

“There’s going to be a lot of spouting from the radio [and television] all summer. There’ll be more perspiration than common sense flowing, and the whole political thing has come now to a direct split in the parties.” Radio, June 9, 1935