Walk into a bike shop, or go on-line and look at new bikes, or observe all the bikes you see around the world on the streets, paths, in races, etc., and the overwhelming majority don't have fenders. There's your consensus.
Really? What country to you live in? Oh, Georgia. US is not the world.
Although it is stated above that "
Bikes aren’t generally sold with accessories, including fenders, lights, racks, bells, bags, etc" Much of that is actually required to be on the bike to be sold in many parts of Europe*.
Commute in the Netherlands or Germany for instance (many people do), and tell me how many bikes you see without fenders.
*(The above applies to commuter bikes, and excludes "race" bikes, legally defined as weight < 12 kg, drop bars, a wheel diameter >= 630 mm , and a rim <= 23 mm)