It’s Just Common Sense
The Refuge of the Reasonless
Imagine you’re deep in a debate. You ask for data, for a causal chain, for even a crumb of academic rigor—and instead of an answer you get a shrug and:
“It’s just common sense.”
Boom. Argument euthanized. No footnotes, no citations—just a wall of assumed truth.
“Common sense” is the graveyard of curiosity. It’s a smoke screen tossed over a hollow claim, a linguistic cloak that says: I’m done defending this. Now go away.
When Thinking Goes on Auto-Pilot
Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow teaches us that our brains default to fast, instinctive shortcuts—System 1—whenever we’re tired, bored, or in too deep. “Common sense” is System 1’s favorite protective gear: it keeps us from digging into complexity, and it flat-out refuses to be questioned.
Yet what feels obvious on the surface often collapses under even a moment of scrutiny. Our gut reactions were forged to dodge saber-toothed cats, not to untangle immigration law or dissect healthcare policy. But in modern discourse, “common sense” is waved around like a divining rod—supposed to guide us straight to Truthville without so much as a road map.
Let’s unpack two recent headlines where “common sense” was used to muzzle debate—and then one case where it actually earned its keep.
CASE STUDY 1: “COMMON-SENSE SECURITY STANDARDS”
On June 4, 2025, Homeland Security rolled out a new batch of “common-sense security standards” to tighten border controls and beef up ID checks. In plain English: more cameras, tougher visa quotas, extra biometric hoops for anyone who looks “suspicious.”
Labeling it “common sense” was a strategic smokescreen—no one needed to justify why fingerprints on a toddler’s school photo would prevent terror. The slogan stood in for policy analysis, daring critics to look irrational for asking for facts.
Never mind the research showing that harsher border crackdowns often reroute migration rather than stop it—and that they inflict real human suffering. When “common sense” is on patrol, nuance gets handcuffed.
CASE STUDY 2: NY POST’S “COMMON SENSE ON IMMIGRATION”
June 3, 2025: Michael Goodwin pens “We Need Common Sense on Immigration” after a federal building was firebombed in Boulder. His prescription? Slam the gates shut and call it “common sense.”
He skips over mental-health screenings, ignores root causes like foreign-policy blowback, and doesn’t so much as glance at asylum protocols. Instead, he plants a flag that says, “I don’t do complexity.”
That’s the real hazard of wielding “common sense” this way—it criminalizes curiosity. A single tragedy becomes a cudgel for prejudice, and anyone who asks “But what about…?” is painted as unserious.
When “Common Sense” Hits the Bull’s-Eye: Gun Reform
But credit where it’s due: not all “common sense” is a thought-terminator. Consider the rallying cry for “common-sense gun reform.”
Advocacy groups aren’t just leaning on feelings—they’re arming themselves with peer-reviewed studies, real-world homicide statistics, and meta-analyses of red-flag laws. States that adopt extreme risk protection orders and universal background checks see quantifiable dips in suicides and accidental shootings.
Here, “common sense” isn’t a lazy sound bite. It’s the residue of hard-won evidence—proof that sometimes your gut aligns with the data.
How to Spot the Shortcut
Whenever someone throws out “common sense,” treat it like a challenge, not a conclusion:
Pin it down. Ask: “What exactly do you mean by ‘common sense’ here?”
Demand the work. Say: “Show me the studies or numbers you’re leaning on.”
Probe the risk. “What if our intuition is misleading us this time?”
If they keep circling back to “everyone knows,” you’ve found your exit ramp.
End of a Species Survival Hack:
Carry a worn-out copy of Thinking, Fast and Slow, a digital dashboard of stats, and a bullshit alarm that goes off at the faintest whiff of “just common sense.” Because surviving in a world where slogans masquerade as science means refusing to nap at the wheel of your own mind.
