Common Sense by Thomas Paine

I really enjoyed reading this excerpt from “Common Sense” and rightfully titled so. After the introduction, Thomas Paine starts saying this is my argument and all I am stating are common facts. In the first paragraph of this section, he basically says “Sit down, shut up, and listen”, which I love. After that, it gets a little shaky or unclear what he is saying until about a page and a half in.

Thomas Paine starts talking about how some people believe we owe Britain something that they are our mother/father and we should thank them. Paine replies back in a tone that kind of says “you stupid idiots, and imbeciles. We owe nothing to Britain.” I love how he goes into that argument of if Britain was our parents then America is a fully grown man/woman and don’t need his/her parents anymore and that Britain should not interfere with America’s life, but then her reprimands this argument by saying that Britain is not our parent, because even though they settled here first there are people here from other countries. “Not one third of the inhabitants, even of this province (Pennsylvania) are of English decent”(p 329). Then he goes on to say, and you’ll love this, that if we are subject to England because some of us came from there, then you can also say that England is subject to France because William the Conqueror. “The first King of England of the present line (William the Conqueror) was a Frenchman, and half the peers of England are descendents from the same country; wherefore, by the same method of reasoning, England ought to be governed by France”(p 329). Thomas Paine blew my mind away with that, because most people do not think about England in that respect. Also, he said that the people that came over to the New World were fugitives and people being harassed and America is a safe house for them to be free. So all in all, that argument is copout.

Another argument he makes is that America should not have any relations with England because it is a monarchy and they are almost always at war. So when they are at war, we will have to come save their butts and then we would be in debt or our economy would decrease etc. It is the same with the whole trade argument.

That is basically the end of Paine’s argument, but then he goes on to say that if a person still believes America should be governed by England, then he has probably not lost a loved one in the war or if he has then he is “unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in live, you have the heart of a coward, and a spirit of a sycophant (p 331) or according to Dictionary.com, a self-seeking, servile flatterer, fawning parasite, which makes me laugh a little.

I love the way he entitled this piece; “Common Sense”. It’s kind of a smack in the face. Paine’s almost saying that he shouldn’t have to spell this out to you but he is. He’s saying that the people of America should have the common sense to see that we should not be tied to Britain in anyway shape or form and that we should keep on fighting for America. “O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare appose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth. Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted around the globe. Asia and Africa have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind (p 332).