Mason Unrau

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Uncommon Sense.

Yukon River

Communal understanding of reality is the foundation for common sense. Due to the degradation of intentional community and fidelity to a homeland, this shared knowledge of how things ought to work is drastically in decline. The deterioration of caring for our neighbours' well-being seems to be another culprit for the practice of common sense becoming a rarity. Another observation I've made, commonly shared by those older than myself, is that the upcoming generations lack sense entirely. Multiple precipitating factors play into this but the paramount reason seems to be from the cultural push for young people to desert the place that formed them only to aspire to 'greater' achievements and status. I still find it tragic when youth graduate high school only to leave and never return because of a loathful view of the people and place that nurtured them.

Rather than seeing common sense slowly disappear, a more honest take could be that the transient western culture is allowing for others to bring with them external sensibilities that are foreign to us. This was abundantly clear to me during my time travelling. I found myself frequently frustrated by how nonsensical so many traditions and daily life for people seemed. Only after returning home was I capable of understanding common sense requires a life-long practice of being immersed in a physical place. I hope to explore this concept further as I continue to learn what the common sense of the Yukon looks like.

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