By Alistair Cooke

This was written in 1969 in one of A. Cooke's letters to America.
It still has a ring of truth. Middle class Standards...
Fair wages for good work. Concern for the family and its good name. A distrust of extremes and often, perhaps a lazy willingness to compromise. The hope of owning your own house and improving it. The belief that the mother and father are the bosses, however easygoing, of the household and not simply pals. A pride in the whole country, often as canting and unreasonable as such patriotism can be. Vague but stubborn ideas about decency. An equally vague but untroubled belief in God. A natural sense of neighbourliness, fed by the assumption that your neighbour is much like you and is willing to share the same lawn or lend you a mower, hammer, or a bottle of milk.

These values are just as plain as good manners and respect. Is it just common sense or more likely uncommon sense?