Common sense is not so common in today’s world — and I bet I’m not the only one who has noticed.
In the boardroom, the courtroom, the newsroom, and the classroom, everything has become “my way or the highway.” Our society cares more about amassing clicks, likes, and shares than the impact our actions have on others.
That is precisely why I decided to launch a brand new podcast dedicated to rediscovering common sense. Today more than ever, people are in dire need of honest conversations.
Historically, journalists have played an important role in keeping the public informed through objective reporting. Media outlets used to be a source of factual information and unbiased analysis that enlightened our society. Today, however, their sole purpose is to get higher ratings — even if doing so means manufacturing stories that stoke division and hatred among the people.
The best example of this shocking erosion of journalistic integrity is the Russia collusion hoax that the legacy media fueled for the entirety of former President Donald Trump’s term in the White House. Over the course of those four years, some of the most prestigious news outlets published some of the most bogus news articles in the history of Western journalism.
The infamous dossier of a Clinton opposition researcher, Christopher Steele, somehow became the foundation for most of the Russia collusion reporting — despite the fact that its claims were completely unsubstantiated. Instead of questioning the validity of this background material, a practice that used to be standard operating procedure for all political reporters, almost every major publication embraced it as gospel.
This shocking gullibility, it turns out, was remarkably selective. When the New York Post published its groundbreaking report about Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop, most legacy media outlets either ridiculed the report or ignored it altogether.
The world of social media, the modern-day town square, has also played a key role in the death of common sense. While platforms such as Facebook and Twitter used to allow, and even embrace, the principles of free speech, the growing tolerance, and in some quarters, demand, for online censorship has put this fundamental American value in jeopardy. Instead of learning how to communicate with each other, we are now encouraged to block, flag, and report people to the Big Tech overlords, who then determine which voices deserve to be heard and which voices must be silenced.
It’s difficult to preserve common sense in these hostile political conditions — but the worst thing we can do now is give up altogether.
I believe that faith, liberty, community, and life are the foundations that have helped our country become the greatest civics experiment the world has ever seen. In order to revive common sense, we have to rediscover the value of these founding principles. If we surrender these core principles to those who seek to undermine the very foundations of our great nation, nothing will help us preserve our liberties.
My podcast is much more than just a critique of modern political discourse. After all, the problems in our society have become so pervasive that just about everyone can easily identify them.
Common sense is impossible without common ground — and I am determined to create a space where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come together and discuss the most important problems facing our nation.
My mother taught me an important lesson about life when I was young: Think with your mind, not your heart. I believe this lesson applies to us all today more than ever before.
If you are interested in reviving healthy political dialogue in America, I hope you tune in to Common Sense with Dr. Ben Carson, which will stream weekly on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
America is in dire need of a dose of common sense. It is on us to step up and deliver.
Ben Carson is the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute and was the 17th secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
