Connections

I believe that it was William F. Buckley who wrote a syndicated column in which he took a circuitous route among various subjects, all of which were connected in some fashion and led back to his point of beginning.  I always enjoyed reading Buckley's columns and felt stongly a desire to write something similar.  The man was a brilliantly astute observer of the American scene.

Although probably not as brilliant, yet no less astute, Paul Harvey was another of those men who could connect the dots of arcane trivia into a cohesive point illustrating some deep truth or possibly revealing little known facts about some famous individual.  His style was decidedly different from Buckley's and yet both had a tremendous impact on the people who were inspired by their work.  One dealt more in the academic realm while the other primarily appealed to the common man.

It is uncommon for an individual to come along who appeals to both academics and the common man.  After all, the former typically esteems himself as highly learned and somewhat above those who are less educated while the latter often holds such learned individuals in lower esteem than perhaps they deserve while valuing the virtue of "common" sense above such self-proclaimed intellectual elite.

Common sense on the other hand is certainly a rare thing today.  I say it is rare, yet, who am I to judge?  Perhaps common sense refers only to our own beliefs as recognized in others.  If that is the case, then such sense is common only if the beliefs so defined are held by a majority of the individuals in whatever subset of the general population is examined.  If that is the case, it would be that set of common values least subject to change.

Since change is the mantra of progressives in our society, which frequently is a group closely associated with the most educated and therefore with academia, it must follow that those who lack common sense are found most commonly among those who constantly seek change.  Since conservatives have a tendency to resist change, it must mean that the majority of those holding the values identified with common sense are conservative.

The Republican Party has been labeled as the party of the more conservative subset of the general population of this country.  Therefore, it would be logical to assume that those who self-identify as Republican would be those with a greater degree of "common" sense.  This would leave those without "common" sense to identify with other political parties of which there is primarily only one and the "chief campaigner" (or is it complainer) of that party resides in a large white mansion in Washington, D.C.

While appealing to the more learned circles rather than to the common man, William F. Buckley would logically be one who most might think fell among those not of the Republican persuasion.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He was a staunchly conservative supporter of the party represented by a large pachyderm.  It would be wonderful to see another such brilliant individual step forward to fill his shoes.  Alas, there does not appear to be one in sight.

I suppose in some sense my feeble attempt to create a connection in the style of Mr. Buckley has been accomplished since the circle begins and ends with him.  It also completes my attempt with the letter "C" in my alphabetically inspired series.  Stay tuned tomorrow for something beginning with "D."  As always, suggestions for "D" subjects are welcome.

Chris