Common sense is a scarce commodity in America. Without berating my colleagues on the other side of the aisle; it goes without saying that many times matters of common sense are lost on the more “enlightened.”

I believe what your humble pundit is attempting to state is this: in some matters there are no shades of grey or blurring of lines, for in these matters there are unadulterated black or white and their is a precise line of demarcation. Take for instance the recent “controversy” surrounding the “spying” conducted by our “fascist” President Bush. Ferdinand T. Cat of The Conservative Cat poignantly dissected a mantra emanating from those on the left,

Ben Franklin once said “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Dr. Franklin turned many a clever phrase in his day, but that doesn’t mean he has the last word in discussion of the Patriot Act.
Before we go too far, it’s worth noting that Franklin was talking about liberty, not privacy. There is a relationship between the two, but I find it strange that no one bothers to quote Franklin when we’re talking about the liberty to choose how your children are taught or smoke cigarettes in public. Instead, he’s used to protect us from the government trying to find out whether or not we’re terrorists.

Many times in our political discourse emotion and colorful rhetoric seemingly replace common sense to become the standard. When discussing how to conduct the War on Terror, it should remain paramount in our minds that common sense and pragmatism is mandatory. The terrorists wish to use our own “rights” and “liberties” to kill us.