common sense?

Is it common sense or senseless commotion?

Mass Transit, supposedly it is a transportation system to move the masses in a timely, effective, cost efficient, convenient order. It, in its best condition, is to help eliminate the pollution of carbon emissions, create less crowded highways and thoroughfares, and in its most mundane iteration it should permit the average American to travel to and from work with less hassle. Some cities have a clue as to how it should work, with most cities still stuck in the 19^th century with an archaic and outdated plan. We talk about a cleaner environment, we speak about less crowded streets, and we promote less reliance on the automobile, but when it comes down to it we end up talking more and doing less.

Is it common sense or senseless commotion whenever there is a budget crisis, the first thing that happens is an increase in the fees to ride mass transit, and a decrease in the routing of mass transit vehicles? Is it common sense or senseless commotion that when discussion of light rail, high speed trains traveling from one major metropolis to another, more fuel efficient mass transit vehicles are mentioned those who should be projecting the future retreat to the past and stop any and all innovation? Is it common sense or senseless commotion that the people who most need mass transit are the last to be listened to and the people who never use mass transit are placed on the mass transit authorities?

Public education of our youth was one of the first issues of business handled by our founding fathers. Free education for most (blacks were not considered most people way back in the pre civil war era) was a tenant of this nation making America a true democracy supposedly based equal access. Education was one excellent way to remove the barriers to poverty, to strengthen our nation, to create productive and active individuals permitting this country to prosper and grow. And as this nation prospered and grew, the educational system began to burgeon (a simple chicken and egg idea, never knowing which came first) but together they blossomed and thrived. And whenever this nation begins to flounder the first causality is to fail the educational system find fault and punish it.

Is it common sense or senseless commotion whenever there is a budget shortfall the size of the classroom increases, teacher salaries are scrutinized, curriculum is cut, and somehow suddenly there is waste and fraud in ALL school boards? Is it common sense or senseless commotion those who preach from the mount that anything they do is for the children, except THAT with their insistence on tax cuts, on less government intervention into their lives, cutting the school year and the school day, they only hurt the children? Is it common sense or senseless commotion that the public school system becomes the scapegoat for any and all economic woes this country faces?

Good nutrition helps keep a body strong and a mind potent and emotions stable. We eat well; we can keep on keeping on. We eat well we have the energy, stamina, motivation to strive for our dreams, reach the far horizon, and face the future with powerful ammunition. We know that a young body needs the building blocks found in healthy food to grow into a teen and young adult. We know that some illnesses are preventable by eating combinations of food sources that build resistance and supply us with the mechanisms to fight disease. Yet the prices for healthy food, the cost of balanced diet, the fees to feed your family good nutrition grow and grow faster and faster and higher and higher.

Is it common sense or senseless commotion that a Happy Meal is cheaper than a home made low fat low sodium dinner? Is it common sense or senseless commotion that most home grown American produce is shipped out of the home town first and that the remainders of the crop are sold at exorbitant prices to the home town consumer? Is it common sense or senseless commotion that we know the causes of obesity in this nation (with more obese citizens than most industrialized nations), but in defiance of that knowledge still allow fast food to be sold cheaper and more convenient than a well cooked meal?

When did common sense stop being cool? When did common sense become more expensive to maintain then senseless commotion? When did what is right for the consumer, the citizen become usurped by what is correct for the corporation? When did greed and gluttony trump sense and sensibility? When did we all become so spiteful, so self serving, so silly? Common sense or senseless commotion, why even the choice?