Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was a wake-up call to the early American colonists concerning the need to break from the tyranny of English rule. This blog is intended to be just that—a wake-up call to a voiceless, complacent nation who continue to permit the media and politics of the day to reshape our morality and national character.

There is no central theme or topic to this column, only one voice finally speaking out, representing many. One voice reacting to the news and events of the day.

One voice looking to start a new national dialog. A dialog with just a single shared thread, common sense reapplied to our every day lives and culture.

My stand?   I cannot pigeonhole it as neatly as conservative or liberal because it sometimes lines up on the other side despite my general convictions. And, this too is the result of common sense. 

With this, I take you to this week’s column about “a place called Perfect.”

A popular drug store chain enchanted us for months a couple of years ago with clever commercials about “a place called Perfect.” This got me to musing. How might I define “Perfect” if there were such a place?

In my Perfect, teachers, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, and our armed forces would be paid and applauded like sports heroes and Hollywood’s elite. Professional athletes, movie stars and rockers would be paid a reasonable wage and would do what they do for the love of their game or craft.

In my Perfect, the elderly would be honored by society and cared for by their families. Young people would continue to show respect for them by giving their bus and subway seats, addressing them as “Sir” or “Ma’am”, and offering their friendship and companionship.

In my Perfect, Good Samaritans would rule the day, offering food, clothing and work to the homeless person sleeping on the frozen ground in a public park rather than walking around him and complaining of the nuisance.

And, in my Perfect, slow children and overweight children would not be singled out as last picked for the spelling bee or kickball team--perhaps affecting their self-worth and motivation for the balance of their lives. Instead, visionary teachers would pair them up with top achievers who would earn credit for peer mentoring and helping their neighbor.

But unlike the Perfect in the drug store chain commercials, whose fanciful traits are not practically attainable, these could be. At the least, we can become more aware. We can put an emphasis back on the good, old fashioned values that somehow have fallen out of vogue. 

We can strive to return to a set of shared values and a sense of national community that we can only find today in reruns of old Jimmy Stewart movies like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Or, in a place called Perfect . . .