Liberty Pen: The Open Mind With Richard Hefner- Phillip K. Howard: The Death Of Common Sense (1997)

Source:Liberty Pen- author Phillip K. Howard on The Open Mind With Richard Heffner, in 1997.

"Who killed common sense? Liberty Pen" 

From Liberty Pen

When we are dealing with problem solving, we have something thats not good for the country and we feel the need to fix it for the good of the country. And we feel we can not only fix the problem in a way, thats cost-effective and won't hurt us in anyway.

When it comes to solving these problems, it should be about just a few things:

What's the problem?

How serious it is?

What's working and what's not and what we should do about it, if anything?

Not finding a solution that works for everyone, but where no one is completely satisfied but where all sides agree that it's better than doing nothing. And you basically mush things together from both sides, whether those things work together or not. But what's the problem and how's the best way to fix it. 

And if we can't get to whatever is the best solution to fixing the problem, because there isn't enough support to get it done, then you look at, look I prefer Plan A: "Because thats the best course to take but we just can't get that done right now. So what's the best alternative to Plan A." And then you look to others to find the next best thing but the next best thing that actually works.

You go to the next best thing after Plan A, when you aren't able to get accomplished what you actually want to do, what's your first choice. And is it better than doing nothing because it actually works, not because it's the next best thing available but because it actually works. 

Commonsense in government is as common as ice fishing in Cuba, or beach houses in Minnesota. It almost sounds like God's largest Oxymoron. So I think Phillip Howard is being way too optimistic when he talks about commonsense in government. But we can only get the best politicians and leaders that we vote for, especially when we don't bother to un for office ourselves and don't hold the crooks accountable for being crooks.