Celebrating Thomas Paine's birthday

When he came to the British Colonies in 1774, Thomas Paine soon sensed the feelings of the inhabitants. He heard their clamor for justice. He felt their sadness for the rejections they received. He knew the tyranny of the British Crown. Like a flash of genius, he recognized the potential of a new world.After analyzing the cause and effect of the situation in the Colonies, Paine envisioned: This was the greatest opportunity for the liberation of man since the world began! Paine's imagination to make things better in the societal structure in which he was living in 1775 was passionately articulated in "Common Sense" (1776). Without "Common Sense," there never would have been the Declaration of Independence. Without Paine's thinking, will and indomitable service, there never would have been the United States of America. This is why we should celebrate his achievement and commemorate his principles and philosophy. Today, some 230 years after Paine's philosophy of peace, freedom and pursuit of happiness for all individuals in a better societal structure was introduced in "Common Sense," accepted in the Declaration of Independence, and then, unfortunately, knowledge was lacking on how to write an operational document that would make Paine's philosophy and principles of individualism a reality in the new societal structure. That document - the Constitution - turned out to be a coercive majority rule committee divided into three branches for making laws to control the citizens' actions. Except for the Bill of Rights, the Constitution was void of semantic precision, thereby allowing the politicians to have a "field day" to do whatever they wanted without any real accountability. The deterioration of Paine's philosophy began when the Constitution was ratified - mild at first, however, with time, the aggressive increase of government coercion caused rapid loss of individual liberty and therefore rapid deterioration in Paine's philosophy for a better societal structure. Today, the final outcome is questionable. There is a reason for everything that happens. The reasons why Paine's philosophy and principles were never made operational should be discussed for everyone's mutual benefit for making better choices in your life. This discussion will take place on Paine's birthday - Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. For location information, please call (562) 869-0608.

********** Published: January 17, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 40