Rosa´s story

A true story: an unwed mother

Some forty years ago Rosa was in her late twenties, lived with her parents of a poor peasant family in a remote Third World country. At 30 she fell in love and became pregnant. She never considered and abortion. But she was expelled from High School and after her baby was born, her father rejected her and she had to leave home. Her lover fled. She was alone to feed, raise and educate her baby. She never had any economical support from no one. She worked self-employed as a maid in different homes. Life is harsh and she learned that very early in life. The story has a happy-end. Some sixty years later, her baby is now a 40 year old professional; a teacher graduated from one of the best College of the country and supports his mother economically now turning 70 years old. Many years later, Rosa still feels guilty and says: “Will God ever forgive me my sin” (of having had this unwed child?)

This is the story of common sense. It can support you and condemn you if you don’t agree, don’t conform. It can slap you in the face, and be compassionate. That is why we start this paper with this short story. Common sense is bold old and new. It survives across generations, hundreds or thousands of generations. It tells you what to eat, drink, cook, and marry or whom not to associate with. Common sense rules are explicit and some implicit. But they work. In Asia most people eat rice at breakfast, but in Canada most people eat cereal. This is common sense. It is usually not written, but people behave anyway in common practices.

What was Rosas´ transgression?

In a traditional (catholic) family of poor peasant she broke two rules of common sense. She had sexual intercourse and got pregnant without being married. She disobeyed the parent’s authority of getting pregnant before getting married. For this she was punished harshly, for many years and she became an outcast.