Thomas Paine

Spencer Lambert
ENGL 48A
Journal for Thomas Paine
November 9, 2009

"Our plan is commerce, and that, well attended to, will secure us the peace and friendship of all Europe...Her trade will always be a protection"

Internet Quotation: "He had lived long, did some good and much harm" - Newspaper in New York City after Paine's death

Summary: The first is included here because of the astounding foresight it contains. Paine was so overwhelmingly right about commerce being our security and source of friendship with Europe that I was actually somewhat frightened. America has long been the source of great new must-haves, for better or for worse.

The second quotation is here for humor. I love it when history proves the prevailing notions of the day wrong, especially for somebody as revolutionary as Paine. We are lucky he had "lived long" and influenced this nation as much as he had, otherwise we would still be proclaiming "God Save the Queen" like those complacent Canadians up north (I know the monarchy is mostly ceremonial, but even still). Paine's writing shook up this nation like few ever had, and we are the better, in my opinion, because of it.

My Ideas: We have reached the revolutionary period, which I am rather excited about as I've reached the "college liberal ultra-leftist radical" phase of my life. Funnily enough, I read Paine's selection on the anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia. My Saturday had me ready for insurrection, but alas, my glorious dreams of rebellion did not play out. (yet.)

I am struck by how much we can still take from Common Sense. It is still about a government that serves the interests of the people, not the status quo, which remains applicable today. Unfortunately, we don't feel we need to act against some of the problems with our government, and when people do they follow morons like Glenn Beck, who actually attempted to reinterpret Paine's Common Sense in his latest book. He failed miserably. The nerve.



What he missed was the careful reasoning that is Paine's defining feature in this pamphlet, and his entire career. As a major figure in the Enlightenment, Paine's insistence on reason shines throughout Common Sense, giving careful, logical answers to why British rule is wrong for the continent. His reasoning is so clear that it is easy to understand why it made such an impact on the American public (though it doesn't explain why Beck couldn't quite grasp it... I feel this says a lot). "Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument," he says of those who argue that the connection with Britain is essential for "future happiness." "We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat." This is one of the simpler explanations, but I think it accurately depicts the wit that makes up most of this reading.

And after showing you the revolutionary light through reason, he makes direct, powerful appeals straight to the reader: "Your future connection with Britain...will be forced and unnatural, and, being formed only on their plan of present convenience, will in a little time fall into a relapse more wretched than the first." Paine understands that for some reason isn't quite enough. By bringing you, the reader, directly into the conflict between the continent and the crown, you feel enveloped in this urgent affair that must be acted upon immediately. Even as modern readers, I think we can feel like we should go out, organize, and rise against the British tyranny... before calmly realizing that it is now 2009 and we have long since won that war. (not to mention we have them in our back pocket now. Oh the irony.)



I do wish politics was relatively more Painesian. The man is critical, judicious, and immediate, unlike the plodding, indecisive politics of our age. Prime example: health care. Does the issue of people dying daily because of jacked-up insurance prices really need to be discussed for months and months? Is the problem not plain, even for those who have a penchant for rejecting anything the other party says? Paine could shove off those who argued against him so simply and stand up for his own beliefs. It would be wonderful if our politicians could do the same today. We need to get radical again; not in the ultra-right Nazi way, but in the "this is what I think, so there" way. Relative radicalism, I suppose.

On second thought, what would C-SPAN have to show if it weren't for the back-and-forth mumbling and grumbling of our nation's Congresspeople?