Common sense is what it is, learning through life experience helps sharpen it. Libs don't have life experience, so they have to have others spoon feed them.
So it's "common sense" to you that torture has kept us safe? For all your appeals to common sense, it's clear you haven't stopped to think about where common sense originates or what it means. Let me explain to you what common sense really is.
Common sense amounts to little more than the prejudices you have accumulated growing up. Prejudgments save you from having to think critically, because you assume you already know the answer. You don't have to evaluate the situation, gather evidence, or get to know a person, because you presume foreknowledge. You jump straight to the conclusion without any supporting premises. You bypass reason and believe what you want to believe because self-assurance is more comfortable.
Common sense is a collection of logical fallacies. An appeal to common sense is no different from an argument from personal incredulity, which is to say, you can't imagine how something could be true, therefore it must be false. Creationists use this all the time to attempt to disprove evolution. They can't imagine how complex life could have arisen by random chance, therefore evolution must be false. After all, it's common sense.
Common sense lies to you every single day. Common sense is what makes you judge others for their bad decisions in hindsight, even though if given the same exact set of circumstances, you would have done the same thing. Common sense is what people use to attack ideas they don't like just because they aren't the perfect solution to every problem. Common sense tells you that if something, no matter how remote, might happen, it probably will happen. Common sense causes people to see patterns and associations that aren't there, leading to many a superstitious belief.
Common sense means clinging to your preconceived notions. For centuries, common sense held that women were mentally and emotionally inferior to men, and should be denied equal rights or opportunities. Common sense once held that blacks were an inferior race and deserved to be enslaved to keep them in line. It was once common sense that the sun went around the Earth. Common sense once told people that evil spirits caused diseases. It's fortunate therefore that we've learned to challenge what was once held in common sense.
Most of all, common sense is antithetical to skepticism. Skepticism requires that one demand evidence to support a claim, belief, theory, or conclusion. Skepticism requires that one challenge one's preexisting prejudices and be willing to change one's beliefs. Skepticism means asking questions and informing oneself, rather than blindly accepting what one is told. Skepticism keeps us from making rash decisions, from rushing to judgment, and from holding fast to ideas that don't work.
So when you speak of "common sense" you are talking about your automatic thoughts. Common sense cannot be a source of knowledge because everyone has automatic thoughts, prejudices, and preconceived notions, and they're all different and unique depending on the individual's upbringing. Common sense does serve a function in helping people live their everyday lives without having to stress over the details, but it's not a source of universal truth or wisdom.
I prefer evidence over common sense.
