Some Relevant & Provocative Thoughts From One of the Founding Fathers

 

Statue of Thomas Paine at Burnam Park in, Morristown, New Jersey

"Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed in the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions." 

~ Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776     

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”  

― Thomas Paine

:The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark."

 -       Thomas Paine

“It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error.”  

— Thomas Paine

“One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests.”  

~ Thomas Paine     

By now, everyone knows that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States. Just weeks ago as I write this, the Declaration of Independence reached a quarter of a millennia in age. Of course, this was cause for celebration.

Yet it seemed to me that the celebrations were more muted, more reserved, than they otherwise might have been under slightly different circumstances. When I was young, I remember seeing - and sometimes even hearing - things about the bicentennial celebrations in the country back in 1976. It seemed that the celebrations back then were more sincere, more heartfelt and universal. That did not mean that we did not have our share of problems back then. Of course we did. Yet as a nation, we were not nearly as polarizing as we appear to be these days.

This time around, things just felt very different. That felt fairly universal. Both around the world, as well as right here in the United States, it felt like the recognition of this landmark occasion, as well as the celebrations, were toned down, muted considerably from what you might normally expect them to have been.

Of course, there are reasons for this. Everyone has an opinion on it. I myself have discussed and elaborated on what I feel the reasons are in previously published posts here. So I will not repeat myself or get into far more details regarding my own opinions here now. 

However, the point is that it felt a lot more subdued than I had imagined it for a long time. Throughout my life, I had expected the 250th to be even bigger than the bicentennial celebrations had been back in 1976, when I was still mostly just a baby. But it felt like people were not so much in a mood to celebrate. That included me.

Still, it is a special occasion. And one where we might look towards the Founding Fathers, flawed as they all might have been, and to recognize that there is nevertheless some wisdom and guidance that they can offer us now. After all, the situation is not radically different than the one which they faced. It is just that the tyranny is much closer to home now, not across an ocean. The problems that this country is currently facing, and which are growing in severity with each passing day, are entirely home grown and self-inflicted. Nobody outside forced any of this on us. 

We seem to be learning - very, very slowly, but gradually learning - that not everything in American history was as rosy and pure and innocent as we had been taught as kids. That includes our portrayals of the Founding Fathers, who were not deities and infallible. Rather, they were flawed men who nevertheless were able to bring out the best in themselves in certain ways to lead the birth of a country that had the opportunity to grow freer over time.

One of my favorite Founding Fathers - and one who I long felt was underrated and too often overlooked - is Thomas Paine. He was one of the relatively few Founding Fathers who was opposed to slavery. And his writings truly stirred the imagination of revolutionaries at the time. He also moved to Paris and was active in the French Revolution. 

Paine seems to have been largely forgotten. Or at least relegated to secondary status. Names and stories endure with other major figures during that time, including Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, and Lafayette. Yet, we rarely hear much about Paine, and I know of no towns or streets or buildings named after him. There is one Thomas Paine statue that I know of, and it is in Morristown. Some pictures are included below.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of quotes which I recently came across and felt were worth sharing here. Quite thought-provoking.

Take a look:

"He who is the author of a war, lets loose the whole contagion of hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death." 

~ Thomas Paine, The American Crisis 5, 1778 

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” 

~ Thomas Paine, 1794