This past weekend, the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, imposed a curfew from midnight to 5:00 a. m. in an effort to “combat the coronavirus.” Asked why he chose this time frame for the curfew, the Governor replied that it was “common sense.”

Maybe someone should inform the Governor that midnight to 5:00 a.m. is the time of day when the fewest people are out and about, and therefore, there is the least likely opportunity to spread Covid. In fact, the Governor’s curfew hours are the opposite of common sense, whatever that term may be. “Northam sense,” maybe?

He went on to add, “I’ll also say something that my parents taught me when I was younger, and that is nothing good happens after midnight.” This kind of scientific analysis will no doubt have Covid on the run before the year is out. Too bad my father isn’t governor of Virginia. His curfew was 11:00 p.m. He would have reduced our Covid vulnerability by 16.66 percent. He certainly reduced my make-out time, but that’s because his curfew overlapped the prime time for making out. Of course, Ralph should have followed his parents’ advice before going to those after-midnight costume parties in college and med school. Typical of a politician to want us to follow his parents’ advice, but refused to follow it himself.

In fact, when any politician uses the argument of “common sense” to advance a cause, what he or she is actually admitting to is that he or she has absolutely no understanding about the subject at hand. It would be more intellectually honest if they simply yelled, “Just ‘cause!” which is an abbreviated version of “Just ‘cause I said so!” Which is really getting at the heart of the matter.

Governor Northam may want to stop exercising his “common sense” and read Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in order to acquaint himself with the need to resist tyranny, a state of human affairs which often takes its first baby steps in the form of curfews. But, then, suppose you were Governor of Virginia? And suppose you were an idiot. But I repeat myself.