--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There ought to be at least as much common…" description: "\"“There ought to be at least as much common sense about living and dying as there is about going to the grocery store and buying a loaf of bread.”\" — Da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg" --- # There ought to be at least as much common sense about… ![“There ought to be at least as much common sense about living and dying as there is about going to the grocery store and buying a loaf of bread.” quote by Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg) > ““There ought to be at least as much common sense about living and dying as there is about going to the grocery store and buying a loaf of bread.”” [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Common sense should guide life and death decisions just as it does mundane tasks. **In simple terms:** Treat life‑death choices with everyday common sense. Key Takeaway Apply practical judgment to serious matters. Themes ethics decision‑making mortality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - medical ethics - legal judgments - personal safety - policy making Key Concepts common sense existential risk Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance emotion and logic? - When have you ignored common sense? A Different Perspective Emotional stakes can cloud rational judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death and dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-and-dying/) [Grocery store](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-store/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I like to work when I'm not working - do something that may not be considered work, but to me it's work. Getting exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-like-to-work-when-i-m-not-working-do-something-that-may-not-be/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [The biggest thing you can do is understand that every time you're going to the grocery store, you're voting with your dollars. Support your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/the-biggest-thing-you-can-do-is-understand-that-every-time-you-re/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [I've been going to the same grocery store for 13 years, and all of a sudden one day everybody was like, 'Oh, my God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mullally/i-ve-been-going-to-the-same-grocery-store-for-13-years-and-all-of-a/) [Megan Mullally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mullally/) > [Coming from being under the radar, I could sit somewhere and nobody would know me. Now, going to the grocery store, going out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-morant/coming-from-being-under-the-radar-i-could-sit-somewhere-and-nobody/) [Ja Morant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-morant/) > [Going to grocery stores is almost my favorite thing to do to calm myself down. There's something about just walking aisle after aisle making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-carruth/going-to-grocery-stores-is-almost-my-favorite-thing-to-do-to-calm/) [Shane Carruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-carruth/) > [I have to make an effort about things like going to the grocery store. That stuff reminds me that I don't live in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-patton/i-have-to-make-an-effort-about-things-like-going-to-the-grocery-store/) [Mike Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-patton/) > [I don't think a young person ever really quite knows what's going on when their norm becomes going to the grocery store with sunglasses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-stoner/i-don-t-think-a-young-person-ever-really-quite-knows-what-s-going-on/) [Alyson Stoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-stoner/) > [We are all dwellers on this one small earth; we live one life, die one death; we have the same difficulties to contend with;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-glover-barkla/we-are-all-dwellers-on-this-one-small-earth-we-live-one-life-die-one/) [Charles Glover Barkla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-glover-barkla/) > [“all ought to be common among friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/all-ought-to-be-common-among-friends/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Going to the court is not like going to the grocery store.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reby-sky/going-to-the-court-is-not-like-going-to-the-grocery-store/) Reby Sky > [I'm really trying to respond to the foods that are in the stores and just pulling the things that are the very best and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-allen/i-m-really-trying-to-respond-to-the-foods-that-are-in-the-stores-and/) [Ted Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-allen/) > [If I'd grown up in Atlanta and then gone to Ottumwa, Iowa it may have been culture shock, but I was used to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-grisham/if-i-d-grown-up-in-atlanta-and-then-gone-to-ottumwa-iowa-it-may-have/) Todd Grisham > [I've handed life and death back to the people who do the living and the dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-bester/i-ve-handed-life-and-death-back-to-the-people-who-do-the-living-and/) [Alfred Bester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-bester/) > [If creating life is art, then living and dying must be poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-jane-andrews-hoey/if-creating-life-is-art-then-living-and-dying-must-be-poetry/) Bethany Jane Andrews Hoey > [“There is more to living than not dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-more-to-living-than-not-dying/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Dalton Trumbo > [Everybody now seems to be talking about democracy. I don't understand this. As I think of it, democracy isn't like a Sunday suit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/everybody-now-seems-to-be-talking-about-democracy-i-don-t-understand/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [I never considered the working class anything other than something to get out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/i-never-considered-the-working-class-anything-other-than-something-to/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“They died crying in their minds like little babies. They forgot the thing they were fighting for the thing they were dying for. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/they-died-crying-in-their-minds-like-little-babies-they-forgot-the/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [Now the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of things people don't understand. Take the Einstein theory. Take taxes. Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/now-the-truth-of-the-matter-is-that-there-are-a-lot-of-things-people/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [An animal can learn to fight, but to sing beautiful things and make people believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/an-animal-can-learn-to-fight-but-to-sing-beautiful-things-and-make/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [Goodbye, my love, my life. Goodbye, goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/goodbye-my-love-my-life-goodbye-goodbye/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“Have you ever noticed how many fences there're getting to be? And the signs they got on them: no hunting, no hiking, no admission,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/have-you-ever-noticed-how-many-fences-there-re-getting-to-be-and-the/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [The only kind of love worth having is the kind that goes on living and laughing and fighting and loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/the-only-kind-of-love-worth-having-is-the-kind-that-goes-on-living/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“The worst criminals on earth are those who toy with love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/the-worst-criminals-on-earth-are-those-who-toy-with-love/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's just a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/what-the-hell-does-liberty-mean-anyhow-it-s-just-a-word-like-house-or/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [Privately, I believe in none of them. Neither do you. Publicly, I believe in them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/privately-i-believe-in-none-of-them-neither-do-you-publicly-i-believe/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“It will be you—-you who urge us on to battle you who incite us against ourselves you who would have one cobbler kill another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/it-will-be-you-you-who-urge-us-on-to-battle-you-who-incite-us-against/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“I am trying to penetrate the mystery of why I am as I am- what I am- I have done everything well and right-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/i-am-trying-to-penetrate-the-mystery-of-why-i-am-as-i-am-what-i-am-i/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [Dishonesty in government is the business of every citizen. It is not enough to do your own job. There's no particular virtue in that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/dishonesty-in-government-is-the-business-of-every-citizen-it-is-not/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [“Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. Give us the slogans and we will turn them into reality. Sing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/put-the-guns-into-our-hands-and-we-will-use-them-give-us-the-slogans/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) [Explore all 69 Dalton Trumbo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) ## More Common sense quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [How is it that labels like 'centrist' and 'moderate,' which common sense tells us should reflect the views of a majority of Americans, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/how-is-it-that-labels-like-centrist-and-moderate-which-common-sense/) [Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/) > [“It was true that common sense wasn’t her forte. It wasn’t that she was silly or stupid, but she heard so many more voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-was-true-that-common-sense-wasn-t-her-forte-it-wasn-t-that-she-was/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [In Raleigh, partisan battles, power struggles and lawsuits might grab the headlines, but we have to work together where we can. To look beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/in-raleigh-partisan-battles-power-struggles-and-lawsuits-might-grab/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [“Listen: Common sense doesn't mean what it used to mean." -Matthias Chalmers, STAIRWAY2 HEAVEN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-thompson/listen-common-sense-doesn-t-mean-what-it-used-to-mean-matthias/) Chaz Thompson > [“when people’s brains are in defensive mode, it becomes harder to see common sense. Small disagreements can end up holding back progress beyond reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/when-people-s-brains-are-in-defensive-mode-it-becomes-harder-to-see/) [Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [ As we have seen after every other \[Donald\] Trump controversy, this one only increased their enthusiasm for him. His supporters thought the idea of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/as-we-have-seen-after-every-other-donald-trump-controversy-this-one/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 1,942 Common sense quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There ought to be at least as much common sense about living and dying as there is about going to the grocery store and buying a loaf of bread.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dalton Trumbo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-common-sense-about-living-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common sense" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-common-sense-about-living-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90a/dalton-trumbo-9732_common-sense_there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-commo_378657.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There ought to be at least as much common sense about living and dying as there is about going to the…” — Dalton Trumbo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dalton Trumbo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There ought to be at least...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-common-sense-about-living-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/there-ought-to-be-at-least-as-much-common-sense-about-living-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```