Common Sense of a Conservative 5

I have come up with the following steps to help a person apply common sense to their problems and help resolve issues.

1. check your emotions at the door
2. clearly define the problem or issue
3. gather all the facts you can preferably from the original source
4. consult with people around you but realize that they may have biases (no spin)
5. apply a moral test
6. come up with realistic options
7. determine the consequences (intended and unintended)
8. look from other perspective (be a devil's advocate) and ask questions%u2026
9. pick the right choice and don't hesitate or equivocate
10. Stick to your decision even if it is unpopular (unless new facts come to light)

A Simple Example -
How to respond to charity calls?

Let me illustrate this process with a simple example. We are all periodically bombarded with phone calls from various charity organizations asking for donation. Let's walk through my steps.
1) Appeals for charity are an emotional act. They operated on the premise that we are all caring people and want to help the disadvantaged. My first reaction is to leave my emotions out of the decision. Don't give in to the sad stories.
2) Define the problem precisely. Should I contribute to this particular charity? If so, how much can I afford?
3) Gather all the facts. Here is a problem. When you are interrupted by a phone call, you cannot drop everything and research the background of the organization. The proper response is to request the caller to send you some information by mail and you will make a decision later. They won't like it and usually will try to get you to commit to a small amount on the phone. Don't give in.
4) I would ask around if others know more about this particular charity. I would also go online and check the reputation of this organization. There are numerous websites that gives information on various Charity organizations and rate them based on their effectiveness. What I found through research is that most of the phone solicitations are scams. Most of the money raised is used to promote and run the charity drive and very little goes to helping the charity they are raising for.
5) What is the moral test in this case? If you found out that an organization is cheating unsuspecting people out of money under dubious circumstance, what should you do about it?

6) The options are -
a) do nothing,
b) make a small donation,
c) report them to some authority,
d) confront the organizers directly,
e) inform others about the scam.
7) What are the consequences of each option?
8) Is there another view of this? Could it be that your actions can harm the organization directly or indirectly? Could you cause the person who is making the calls to loose his job?
9) After careful deliberations, I would choose to do c), d) and e). This will have the best results. It will make the organization think twice about doing the same to others. In the long run, the charity organization will be better served by using some other form of solicitation that is less costly and more efficient.
10) I would continue this practice until I learn something good about phone solicitation. I feel no guilt about turning them down. I will continue to contribute to charities of my choosing and feel good about reducing an annoying practice.

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