Common Sense, Commonly Absent

One of my teachers at school, quite often used the phrase “Common sense, commonly absent”, in a witty manner, when we committed some silly mistake.  It felt like a joke when he used to say it, but as I grow older, I can relate to this phrase in different contexts several times, when people behave in weird ways.

Let me share a small example. A few days back, when I went for my morning walk to a park, I had parked my car on the road adjacent to the place. There are no parking sign boards or designated parking areas, so people park their vehicles, wherever they want, as per their convenience.  I had parked my car, in the usual place and went for a walk. When I came back, I noticed that one person had parked his two-wheeler in front of my car and another one had parked his two-wheeler behind my car, and both the vehicles were securely fastened with the neck lock. They could have either parked their bike, near the other two-wheelers that were parked there, or they could have parked it in some other place, which wouldn’t be a hindrance to others. The best part is there was plenty of other free spaces. There was no way I could move my car, except to wait for one of the two persons to come. I had to face the difficulty of being stranded, because of someone’s insensible behaviour. This I think is a fitting example, of “Common sense, commonly absent”.

Well, this is just one of the many such incidents, we face on a day-to-day basis and sadly we have no recourse to it. So, we just put up with it. Here are a few more areas, where we could see people’s inappropriate behaviour.

One such observation is the way people stand in a queue. The purpose of the queue is meant for everyone to gain access to something, in an orderly manner. There is enough for everyone and so there is no need to hurry. But people have a desperate mindset, that they behave so rashly and ruthlessly in public places. People cut queues, to save time, as if their time is more important than that of others. This is more often evident when I visit temples. Well, everyone comes there to pray and get the darshan of the Lord. There is no need to push people, to see God in such a hurry.  He is not going to go anywhere. Everyone will get a chance to get a good darshan if only people can be a little patient, but people annoy others by pushing each other, shouting, and grabbing space within the crowd. It becomes an awkward scene, especially when we go with our family.

Another unpleasant sight is the way people dispose garbage, especially in tourist places. Garbage bins are placed everywhere. Though it may not be nearby, if we can search a bit we can find it. People can carry the garbage, till they find a bin to dispose. But most people behave like cattle, just disposing off any waste they generate, on the go.

With the increasing number of cars and bikes, finding parking space is becoming increasingly difficult. The parking slots allotted by the Corporation are not sufficient and people look out for places to park their vehicles. In the process, they tend to park their vehicles in front of other people’s house gates, not even considering that people living in the house will have to move in and move out when they need.

Traffic signals and sign boards cannot be put up everywhere. People should have the basic common sense, to be sensitive enough to others' needs, while taking care of their convenience. When people put their convenience, above anything else and start to take everyone for granted, they create an unpleasant social environment, which makes it difficult for peaceful co-existence.

Rules and regulations are created, solely for the safe and peaceful co-existence of people. However, it cannot be enforced everywhere. For example, “Don’t’ smoke in public places” is a rule. But do you think, we can enforce it?  Transformation can happen only when one consciously adopts it, considering the damage they are causing to passive smokers.  Similarly overtaking vehicles on the wrong side is against the rule, but we can’t expect to have a cop positioned everywhere to get hold of the violators. Only when they realize that their behaviour is prone to accidents, that can harm not only them but also others, will they change.

Rules and regulations cannot be laid every where. There are places where people have to use their conscience and common sense. A saying goes, “Do unto others, what you want them to do unto you.” If people can internalize this, I hope they will behave more appropriately.

    D. Senthil Kannan,

    CEO, PALMS Training & Consulting (P) Ltd., Tuticorin.

    Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

    Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com