On Monday, January 12, 2025, The New York Times published an article by Jennifer Schussler. Her article was titled, "The Founding Father Whose Pen Became A Mighty Weapon." Click that link to read it for yourself. I am told by The Times that the article may be considered my "gift" to you, and that no paywall will prevent you from reading every word. I hope that's true!
If you have any question about which "Founding Father" Schussler is writing about, and if you don't immediately recognize the person who is pictured above, let me eliminate your need to guess. That is Tom Paine, pictured. He is the person profiled by Schussler. Common Sense is not the only thing he wrote, but it is his most famous writing. It "went viral" in 1775-1776, as an unsigned pamphlet, and Wikipedia tells us that it had the "largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history."
Paine wrote Common Sense 250 years ago, and it is still in print. If you want to read the book (which is recommended), you will have to purchase it yourself - or visit a local library. My bet is that your library will have it, and will let you check it out.
Schussler's article makes clear that while Paine's pamphlet was widely read in its time, and helped push the nation to its Declaration of Independence, Paine's ideas were not fully appreciated then, and are not, really, fully appreciated now. Read the article as my "gift" and find out about that. You can consult Bob Dylan, too, whose song about Tom Paine, "As I Went Out One Morning," is pretty enigmatic. As is often true with the truth, it's hard to get a secure grip on exactly what "the truth" actually is - and on what it demands of us.
And what is demanded of us right now - politically, I mean? It may be time for a Common Sense, II, and another revolution. Given what I'm reading each day in the newspapers, our governing authorities, like the Crown and its consorts, in 1776, have way overstepped their place and position.
Is it time for a Common Sense, II? I have (implicitly) raised this idea before. I'm thinking about it.
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