being philosophical
I was doing a little house work on my PC earlier and I came across a couple of little notes I had saved to the hard disk for future reference sometime in the past and felt they needed an airing. They both seem very relevant to today way of life.
Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Company Policy
Start with a cage containing five monekys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs underneath it. Before long a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs spray all of the monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with the same results – the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey see the banana and goes to climb the stairs. To his horror, the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt he knows if he touches the stairs he will be assaulted.
Next remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.The new comer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcommer joins in the punishment with enthusiasm! Then replace a third original monkey with a new one and then a fourth and then the fifth. Everytime a newcomers take to the stairs he is attacked. The monkeys have no idea why they are beating him, have no idea why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkey, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Still, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? Because as far as they know thats the way it always been done around here and that is how company policy begins
