The Common Sense Revolution

President Trump announced during his address to Congress earlier this year that this was the “dawn of the new golden age of America”. I’m for that!

That dawning includes ushering in of “the common sense revolution” via policies built on what so many would view as common sense. But somehow, liberals haven’t gotten the message. The progressive left is still doubling down on stupid at every turn. Digging in their heels on every failed policy and social contagion that caused them to flounder in the last four years.

We see it “out there” in the hinterlands of America. We also see it right here at home.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “common sense” as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts”. What some in these parts might just call “good walkin’ around sense”. More of that please! Yes indeed! But not everyone gets it. In fact, some on the left are prone to outright resist the idea that common sense might just make….well, sense.

The NY Post recently reported on a Minneapolis hospital network holding mandatory DEI/social justice/entitlement seminars for its employees, complete with slides detailing who is, and is not, allowed to use the “N-word”. You read that right. Allegedly there is an acceptable use of one of the most socially unacceptable words in the English language. The N-word is vulgar, demeaning, and derogatory. But according to the “language training module” made mandatory for 7,000 staff of the Hennepin County Medical Center you are allowed to use it if you’re “black or mixed with black”, but NOT if you’re white or “a person of color but not black”. This is not only patently ridiculous, it is also an obvious violation of the First Amendment. Common sense says speech should be respectful but curtailing speech based on skin tone is not.

Corporate America is still clawing its way out of the wokism of the Biden era. Bud Light hasn’t yet recovered from its misguided and ill-fated Dylan Mulvaney dalliance. Meanwhile Ulta just partnered with a bearded dude to sell women’s products. Let’s see how that works out. American Eagle decided to go with an actual attractive very-real female model for it’s new ad campaign which immediately prompted cries of racism from the left. Sure. You tell me: which ones sound like common sense?

But what about the public sector? Will there be a return to common sense in state and local governments? Will we see normalcy in public policy in other than the Trump-led federal government? Good question. The jury is still out.

The city of Boston recently posted an online ad detailing the city’s attempt to recruit police officers based on religious preferences. “Join the BPD” the ad says, while noting that the Muslim Police Officers Panel will host an event at the Islamic Society Cultural Center of Boston. Are they holding such events for Christians only? Is there a community outreach effort for Buddhists? Rastafarians? Does this pass the common sense test? The government providing preferential treatment to one religious group over another is a clear violation of the Constitution.

Brandon Johnson, the teachers union activist turned Mayor of Chicago recently faced fire over his “Welcoming City Ordinance” – a thinly disguised name for Chicago maintaining a sanctuary city status. That policy has resulted in Chicago taxpayers footing the bill for over $625 million in costs associated with over 50,000 illegal immigrants he “welcomed” to the Windy City in the past few years. Meanwhile Chicagoans are questioning the $1.12 billion budget shortfall resulting in new calls to raise municipal taxes and implement hiring freezes. Half of the budget shortfall comes from one issue: sanctuary policies. It defies common sense. 

Then there’s the City of Birmingham, Alabama whose crime rates made it one of the murder capitals of the nation. In 2024 the Magic City hit levels of homicide’s not seen in nearly a century. The Mayor and City Council were flummoxed. Never mind the Mayor’s soft-on-crime mass pardons. Never mind the efforts to enact social justice programs to “reimagine” public safety, or send counselors on 911 calls. The crime rate soared. So much so that calls from state legislators and the Governor’s office indicated that change would be forced on Birmingham if its leadership did not return to common sense policing. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced his opposition. No surprise.

As a result of calls for common sense Woodfin has now drawn opposition in his bid for reelection with Birmingham’s crime rate being a central platform issue. Then voila! Suddenly a report surfaced indicating that crime has plummeted! No causation is given but the report does indicate that more social justice efforts are to be expected in a yet-to-be published “justice reinvestment plan.” Color me skeptical.

I understand that there will always be differing political agendas, and ideological persuasions. There will be differences of opinion on how to handle certain circumstances. But in the end, it is the results that matter. Politicians at every level would do well to heed the fact that governance is not rocket science. It does not take an ivy league doctorate in public administration to determine what works and what doesn’t. More often than not good governance is just the enactment of common sense which unfortunately, is all too uncommon.

So yes, I’m for the policies that we are seeing right now from the Trump Administration. I’m for the idea of bringing on the new golden age of America. I love the idea of peace through strength, America First, and all that those things entail. But if you get right down to it, what Trump is doing is just good ol’ common sense.

Call me a soldier in the common sense revolution! I’m so glad to see common sense becoming more common again.