Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
May 9, 2024     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 4     (4 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 4     (4 of 40 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
May 9, 2024
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




Page 4 — Shelton-Mason County Journal — Thursday, May 9, 2024 We need old-fashioned uncommon sense “Common sense and a sense ofl’iumor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense ofhunior isjusl common sense, dancing.” w Clive James, (till/N)!‘ hen I was a young‘ ster growing up among the sticks and hicks ofEastern Washington, an adult volunteered some of his precious time to tell me I didn’t have any common sense. I can’t remember what behavior prompted the com~ ment, but I do remember won- dering what “common sense” could mean. I wondered for so long that I finally decided that spending time wondering what consti- tutes common sense indicates a lack of common sense. Be- cause I didn’t have common sense, I must have either un— common sense, or worse, no sense. Thus cursed, I trudged on with this burden I was given, like a big, dumb ox. So I’ve grown into adult- hood sensitive to mentions of the use of the phrase “com- mon sense.” It shows up a lot in public, especially among some politicians. Some recent examples: I U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (July 2023): “This is about SHELTON-MASON COUNTY 4M. uses 492—800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason THESE TIMES a dialogue for common sense, which is very hard to have here, finding commonal- ity. And we’re going around the country basically talk- ing to people who want this commonality and common— sense approach to how we fix problems.” I State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (September 2023): “Washington state is undeleated in court against challenges to Washington’s common—sense firearm safety laws. ...” I Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (January 2024): “This should not be a Demo— crats versus Republicans is— sue Holding fentanyl mak~ ers and dealers accountable is just common sense.” I State Rep. Frank Chopp (March 2024): “I focus on the values that have guided my decades of service: working together for one Washington; common sense for the common good, and a positive agenda in the public interest.” I U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake (April 2024): “I oppose today’s ruling, and I am calling on Katie Hobbs and the State Legislature to come up with an immediate comn‘ion-sense solution that Arizonans can support.” Promoting the. superior value of common sense is a common tactic, mainly be- cause it’s vague enough not to obligate the promoter to a specific action. It also helps the common-sense community feel superior to the communi— ties of the uncommon—sensed and the no-sensed. Also, you don’t have to worry about a noncommon-sense community banding together and rising in outrage. I can’t recall ever describ- ing anything or anyone as lacking in “common sense” because it’s too undefinable to mean anything and, of course, because of my common- sense disorder syndrome. My mother—in—law once described someone as “not having the good sense that God gave a duck,” which seems UK only because she’s so adorable. We’ve got some complex ARE YOU SURE IF I DO IT, IT WILL MAKE ME FEEL BETTER? problems in need ofsolutions, so how about we try promot— ing uncommon sense with the same vigor we do common sense. Here’s an example ofun— common sense at work. The following showed up April 23 on an online site called “Inter— esting 'l‘echnologyz” “A small—scale and compact device built by [Seattle-area- based] fusion startup Zap Energy has achieved plasma electron temperatures of 1-3 keV, roughly equivalent to 20 to 66 million degrees Fahren- heit (11 to 37 million degrees Celsius). In nearly a century of humanity working with fusion reactions, only a few technologies have reached plasma fusion temperatures above 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million de— grees Celsius), the tempera- ture of our sun’s core.” This is a remarkable breakthrough. It’s the precur— sor to the day when we can generate renewable energy without generating significant pollution. Imagine. No more dams. No more oil drilling. No more solar panels. No more windmills. Maybe no more Elon Musks. Maybe even, dare we dream, no more bar- becue lighter fluid. And here’s the uncommon sense required to construct such a technology, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency: “On Earth, we need tem— peratures of over 100 million degrees Celsius to make deu- terium and tritium fuse, while regulating pressure and mag— netic forces at the same time, for a stable confinement of the plasma and to maintain the fusion reaction long enough to produce more energy than what was required to start the reaction.” The knowledge required to accomplish this pursuit of fu— sion energy is not the kind of project solved with quick and uncomplicated answers that require doing things the way we’ve always done them —' all fundamental elements of how we use the phrase “common sense.” Maybe, just maybe, it’s a sign of common sense to un- derstand that we need uncom— mon sense to make this world operate. I asked Mrs. Ericson whether she thought I’ve de— veloped any common sense since she’s known me. “Some,” she replied. “Some.” Good. Maybe I’m on my way. I Contact Kirk Ericson at kirk@masoncounty.com County Journal, PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. r Published weekly by the Shelton-Mason County Journal at 227 W. Cola St, Shelton, Washington. Mailing address: PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone: 360426—4412 Website www.masoncountycom Periodicals postage paid in Shelton, Washington. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. The Journal is a member of the Washington Newspaper Publish— ers Association. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $82 per year ($55 for six months) for Mason County addresses and $105 per year ($70 for six months) outside of Mason County. Single issue price $2.00 Publisher: John Lester Advertising: Theresa Murray, Ad Representative Newsroom: Justin Johnson, Editor Gordon Weeks, Reporter June Williams, Reporter Kirk Ericson, Columnist/ Proofreader Shawna Whelan, Photographer Front office: Dave Pierik, Office Administrator Karen Hranac, Customer Service Delivery: Jon Garza David Olson Niel Challstrom Design: Kim Fowler, Graphics Design Linda Frizzell, Special Projects All regular editorial, advertising and legal deadlines are 5 pm. the Monday prior to publication. To submit a letter to the editor, email editor@masoncountyicom. Office hours: 8 am. to 5 pm. Monday to Thursday. Closed Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and major holidays.