Common core has an explicit goal of trying to foster an appreciation for different approaches, in complete recognition of what you said - that different people prefer different approaches, and also in complete opposition to what you and I grew up with. Schools used to teach one and only one way. I'm super curious if you have a problem with Common Core as implemented, or if like so many other parents who are scared of it, you haven't fully investigated what Common Core actually is. I know I might accidentally sound insulting or condescending, I am totally not intending that! I myself was scared of Common Core at first, and I heard and read lots of bad things from other parents who were scared of it, but hadn't looked into it carefully. My wife and I spent some time investigating the curriculum and the reasons behind it, and I'm a total convert, I now think what they're trying to do with Common Core is a great idea, and probably better than what you and I were taught when we were kids.

The implementation and communication about what Common Core is doing needs a little work. The author mentioned this, and I think he's absolutely right. The fact that math-educated parents like you are reacting negatively to Common Core is a symptom of the plan not being very well explained to parents, even though once people see it clearly, they often agree that it looks like a superior way to teach math.

I guess I'll just add a side note that fostering this appreciation for different approaches might actually be getting more directly at the universality you mentioned above. There's a deeper truth behind the meaning of subtracting two numbers than any one algorithm holds, and perhaps the only way to see it is to be familiar with multiple algorithms.