The Illustrated Oxford Dictionary defines common sense as “sound practical sense, especially in everyday matters.” Wikipedia defines it as “knowledge, judgment, and taste which is more or less universal, and which is held more or less without reflection or argument.” In modern English, it defines “plain, self-evident truths or conventional wisdom that one needed no sophistication to grasp and no proof to accept precisely because they accorded so well with the basic (common sense) intellectual capacities and experiences of the whole social body.” In his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, author Thomas Paine used common sense as a tool in his argument in favor of the American colonies’ independence from the British Empire.
Though I have nothing against common sense, I object to its use as a political weapon. While liberals and progressives have used the term to defend their policies, in the Age of Trump “common sense” is repeatedly used by Donald Trump and his supporters to defend their opinions, attack their opponents, and silence dissent. When Trump began his second term, a White House press release crowed that “President Trump is restoring common sense to government.” Lesser Trumpers followed suit. Carla Sands, Trump’s former ambassador to Denmark, said his proposal to take over Greenland is “a common sense solution to a thorny problem.” House Speaker Mike Johnson noted that the president’s plan to take over Gaza “follows common sense.” Fox News host Jesse Watters thought it was “common sense” to deport foreign “terrorists” without due process.
GOP politicians running for election or reelection in this year’s mid-term elections repeatedly argue that their “crazy” Democratic opponents are outside the common sense mainstream. North Carolina’s Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the GOP faithful at their recent convention in Dallas that this election is a fight between common sense and “crazy” ideas backed by the likes of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Speaking at the same event, Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds argued that “Republican policies work for the American people. When you lead with common sense, your people thrive.”
As a progressive Democrat, I beg to differ. In my humble opinion, the Trump MAGA Republicans are the ones who are “crazy” and outside the mainstream. What’s “common sense” about pledging allegiance to “the greatest president in the history of the United States” or screening a video that celebrates “how God created Trump.” By using common sense as a weapon, Trump and his allies try to place themselves above criticism or opposition. And that will never happen. It is just not common sense.
