Saturday, August 16, 2008

Common Sense by Thomas Paine, 2008 version

Published anonymously by Thomas Paine in January of 1776, Common Sense was an instant best-seller, both in the colonies and in Europe. It went through several editions in Philadelphia, and was republished in all parts of United America. Because of it, Paine became internationally famous.

"A Covenanted People" called Common Sense "by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution....it remains one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language."

Paine's political pamphlet brought the rising revolutionary sentiment into sharp focus by placing blame for the suffering of the colonies directly on the reigning British monarch, George III.

In "Common Sense" Thomas Paine wrote:
Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.

Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz., freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with snow, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and of reason will say, it is right.

I draw my idea of the form of government from a principle in nature, which no art can overturn, viz., that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered; and with this maxim in view, I offer a few remarks on the so much boasted constitution of England. That it was noble for the dark and slavish times in which it was erected is granted. When the world was overrun with tyranny the least therefrom was a glorious rescue. But that it is imperfect, subject to convulsions, and incapable of producing what it seems to promise, is easily demonstrated.

Absolute governments (though the disgrace of human nature) have this advantage with them, that they are simple; if the people suffer, they know the head from which their suffering springs, know likewise the remedy, and are not bewildered by a variety of causes and cures. But the constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies, some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine.

The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. 'Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent- of at least one eighth part of the habitable globe. 'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected, even to the end of time, by the proceedings now. Now is the seed time of continental union, faith and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; The wound will enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters.
I have often wondered what Mr. Paine would think of the situation of America today. And have found it in this video:





Start the 2nd American Revolution. Call your Congressional Representatives. Be a member of the new Revolution. The Silent Majority can no longer be silent. We must be heard!

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4 comments:

Marcel said...

Thomas Paine wrote his common sense to a moral people who understood that God ruled in the affairs of men.
This is no longer the case in Ameirca since He was thrown out in 1962 and every form of perversion and amoral teachings have filled the void.
The evil men who took over our governmnet have successfully dumbed down the citizenry
American have learned nothing from history and follow the way of all empires before it who became utterly corrupt proud,vain and blind at the edge of destruction.
As with ancient Babylon ,modern day daughter of Babylon whose army is in Babylon,
You have been weighed in the balances and found lacking
Who in their right mind believes wtiting or emailing a gathering of corrupt leader who only serve big money interests and doner's will accomplish anythiong.
You blind patriots who bend their knees to your god the state are the most deceived of all.
Unless the Lord build the city ,they labor in vain who build it.

KG said...

Mr. Paine was always one of the guests at my fantasy dinner party--there are very, very few men of his stature today.
Marcel, patriots don't bend their knee to the State--often quite the reverse.
They revere their country and their fellow citizens. The State is a mere administrator and all too often one that acts against the interests of the people.

As for "you have been weighed in the balance and found lacking"....I find that offensive and arrogant.
Whose "balance"? And lacking what?
We do what we can- and that may be little enough- but you are not the one to judge.
I'll refrain from putting it more strongly, bearing in mind I'm merely a guest.....

Findalis said...

Patriots are never blind marcel. We who love our country have open eyes to the corruption and incompetence of our leaders. That is why we fight so hard for real change. Not the smoke and mirrors that Obama uses, but a change back to the concept that our founding fathers had in mind for this nation.

This change isn't always an easy one, for we fought a very bloody civil war to bring about a major change to our nation. But it can and must be done. The moral fiber that this nation was founded on must be restored. The slogan on our dollar is E pluribus unum,Out of many One. It is direct opposition to the ideals of multiculturalism and the disunity of diversity.

That is what this new Revolution is about. Making this nation one again. Forgetting the hyphenations and concentrating on the one world in every hyphenation that really matters: AMERICAN.

The Bird said...

Your article is MORE than great. I have the Second American Revolution on my site as well, http://dailyinsults.blogspot.com/2008/08/second-american-revolution.html but nothing beats your complimentary article with it. Great work.