May 9, 2024 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 4 (4 of 40 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
May 9, 2024 |
|
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.