Each year I take time during the days leading up to the Fourth of July to read the Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence. This year, I added to the reading marathon the pamphlet penned by Thomas Paine, January 9, 1776, titled “Common Sense.” In this long essay, Paine takes great strides to explain the common sense thinking of the day that led up to the Declaration of Independence from the monarchial system of government in England, under which the colonies were forced to struggle. One is not long into the reading of Paine’s masterpiece of government grievances before it is known that there is no love lost between Paine and King George III, the King of England.
Paine explains in the document. “We have it in our power to begin the world anew…America shall make a stand, not for herself alone, but for the world.” It was obviously true that the men who led the rebellion against the tyranny of the monarchy in the “Mother country” were motivated by the desire to be free from government intrusion into their personal lives because of the belief that they had God-given rights they would not yield. Paine was not shy to express his beliefs and to outline what he understood was necessary to throw off the yoke of bondage that was being tightened around the necks of the people in the colonies. One only has to read the quoted sentences below to hear the pathos and passion in the voice and pleading of Paine as he argued for a free society of people that would determine its own destiny.
Paine said: “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.”
With the publishing of “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine spoke to the people of the colonies and at the same time served notice on King George III that the free people of the new world intended to remain free and were willing to, if necessary, seal that freedom with their life blood. In the months that followed the publishing of Paine’s “Common Sense” pamphlet, there would be many meetings among the leaders of the new developing country, with edicts from King George III to attempt to bring the rebels into line and further control this attempt to break away from England, to no avail.
Monday, we celebrate our independence from England with our 235th celebration of the Declaration of Independence. As we place our government system alongside other systems we are still young, and we are still in the throes of determining all that the founding fathers had in mind for our nation. When the founding fathers expressed their collective belief that among certain of our rights is the right to life, they gave credibility to the universal right to life. In the listing of what they believed to be Creator-given rights; life was first, then liberty, followed by the pursuit of happiness. Our society has in the last couple of decades determined to turn that list upside down putting happiness first. Not only have we seen that determined shift in thinking, but somehow the idea has been sold that government must insure the happiness of the people. We have lost the concept of the pursuit of happiness and replaced it with government guaranteed happiness, which is not possible unless we are willing to loose all our freedoms. We too often see the argument for the taking of life in the womb as assuring the happiness of the one making the decision to take the life of the innocent unborn person. Not just in the area of life, but also in every aspect of our life from the cradle to the grave, we have been sold the idea that government has all the answers to every dilemma of life. The time is now that we should embrace the truth expressed by Thomas Paine when he said. “Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one…”
Ray Newman
