Dateline 1776: I wish that Thomas Paine would just shut up!

[Zomby Woof]

At first, his histrionic screed "The American Crisis" was a real blockbuster - as #1 on the NYT list of freely distributed pamphlets. He really took the BFEE (British Fucking Evil Empire) to task, and had garnered the attention of a few colonials, egging them on in their rebellion, questioning the media of the day (CNN - The Colonial News Network, being one of the worst media outlets). He was also the Number One advocate of "Supporting Our Troops". And Paine wasn't one of those phonies either, who had yellow ribbons festooning the bodice of many a fine maiden and the tail of many a fine riding horse.

So yeah, he did some good, but really, did he have to keep yapping and making us leftists look bad when he penned "Common Sense"? Really Tom, just shut up, you're making us look like a bunch of malcontents and you know CNN (later renamed the Continental News Network) will be all over it, especially that Hessian-lovin' Wolf Blitzer! Paine's just a whiner now, and although I once supported his rabble-rousing, he just makes us all look like fools. JUST SHUT UP TOM! SHUT UP!!!

Besides, even though the British are waging an unjust war, exerting dictatorial control, and taxing us poor folks to hell without any real representation whatsoever, doesn't mean we should expend our political capital NOW! After all, we don't need to stir the big copper cauldron of discontent! The British will leave of their own volition, and it doesn't matter what their Hessian commander, General Diebold, thinks! Not to mention his brother Chad, who was hanged for his offenses! Harumph!

Thomas Paine was once a great man, but but refusing to keep his mouth shut, he has set us back 20 years! OMG! What ever will we do???

King George the Turd is a bumbler, to be sure, but is he really all that bad?? Maybe Tom should shut up so we can give him another chance!

Who's with me???

;-)

[Poll_Blind]

1. In Common Sense, he reproached Israel for wanting a king.

AIPAC will make sure he's toast.

PB

[Squatch]

9. Kind sir, what is this "Israel" you speak of?

[Poll_Blind]

11. Read Common Sense starting around paragraph four or so.

Right Here

Of course mine was a humorous aside. You should read the whole thing- it's a scathing discourse on hereditary rule.

PB

[Zomby Woof]

13. I highly recommend 'The Rights of Man'

In which he hands the British conservatives their ass. :D I also think students of the French Revolution would be remiss without reading it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. and if you want to understand what the modern

conservative movement is, raed Burke...

[bahrbearian]

2. The reason I don't go to any revolutions is becasue they are

sponsered by the "Fore Fathers" who are they and what agenda do they have , they seem Communist.

[wtbymark]

3. King George should hang

on with the revolution

[BillZBubb]

4. Nice.

We don't want to seem radical. We might alienate those wavering Tories.

[Toots]

5. Hear hear

Down with them radical Liberals. What do they want anyway, their own country? Imagine what a nightmare that would be? There must be a strong fatherly figure to keep the rabble in line. Without a King the world would fall apart..

[charlie]

6. Jailbird who died broke

Why should I listen to a homeless ne'er do well? Maybe if he bathed once in a while...

[Bridget Burke]

7. Alas, we shall surely be marginalized....

And scathing essays will be published in London.

[havocmom]

8. ::snicker:: Good rant ZW

Mighty good point.

Let us never forget the nation was founded by a minority of the population, that part with some ballocks! Let the others hide in their parlors and sip tea while grumbling about taxes.


Meet me in the harbour... we'll do tea the Yankee Doodle way! :patriot:

[nashville_brook]

10. recommended

nicely put!

[jobycom]

12. Nice!

[CatWoman]

14. you're such a fucking trip

:hi:

:loveya:

[VolcanoJen]

22. Took the words outta my mouth.

:loveya:

[bvar22]

15. Thomas Paine is giving the LEFT a bad image.

Rush Limbaugh criticized him yesterday.
Thomas Paine is making the LEFT look like Commie Wacko Lawbreakers!
He should at least shave his beard and wear a suit!

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. You forgot abou his pal Thomas Jefferson

he needs to stop writign about the rights of man, and the purusit of happines, I mean he stole that from Locke and will not even fess up to it!

[Zomby Woof]

18. And don't forget that French traitor...

Montesquieu! Jefferson loves them damned cheese-eatin' blowhards way too much! :argh:

[Autonomy]

19. Beat ya to the topic last night

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=4062716&mesg_id=4062716

[Zomby Woof]

20. WHOA

I seriously missed that thread. LOL. I chalk that up to great minds and all that. :-)

[Autonomy]

23. Yeah, definitely weird.

:7

[centristo]

21. got this off bartleby's

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."

THOMAS PAINE, “Dissertation on First Principles of Government,” The Writings of Thomas Paine, ed. Moncure D. Conway, vol. 3, p. 277 (1895). Originally published in 1795.

http://www.bartleby.com/73/1072.html


Ummmm....can anyone say Abu Graib? Guantanamo?

[Matariki]

24. nice use of "OMG!" n/t

[txaslftist]

25. Awesome post, sirrah.

[Fight_n_back]

26. In all seriousness, many here would have hated most of the revolutionaries

they were all rich, white men looking to line their pockets. The good people of DU would have waited for a perfect candidate to emerge, one who had never earned a dime but still been successful, one who agreed with them not only on each issue but on the implenmentation of each issue. One who spoke with charisma but not too much charisma because that would make them an empty suit.

Why should we listen to Jefferson? He has slaves. Adams is a Christian Fundy nut...Franklin is a bad father and husband who may like the British a little too much. George Washington doesn't have enough experience and is the largest land owner in the nation, not to be trusted.

Sam Adams is a DLC sellout. blah, blah, blah

[Greyhound]

27. Agreed. One thing I believe you've overlooked is that these

"rich, white men looking to line their pockets" did indeed eventually lay it all on the line, literally, everything. I don't see anything like this today, and it is sorely needed.

[KittyWampus]

29. that's a great assessment, you seem to know the founding fathers' history

pretty well.

[Fight_n_back]

30. I hope I would have supported them

people have faults. One could go a couple of millenia waiting for somoene with no faults at all.

[KittyWampus]

31. from reading about Ben Franklin, he seemed to be the original

"triangulator" ala Clinton playing England and France off of one another wonderfully. :)

He even knew there was a spy for E. in his household and used that to great effect.

But it seemed many of the patriots back in the US thought him a traitor to the cause for still corresponding with England.

Apparently Franklin entertained the dream of owning some property bestowed by the Crown and that was one personal, selfish reason he kept tight with England.

Indeed, noone is perfect. And I'd forgotten how miserable he was to his son and wife.

[Fight_n_back]

32. Buddha was a deadbeat dad

What is important about Ben Franklin is what he did, not what he didn't do vis a vis his children. Ben Franklin's dad was a supreme cock but it didn't stop him from being one of the great minds of all time.

If we spent more time worrying about what people actually accomplish rather than how we think of them then the little one probably wouldn't be in the Oval Office right now.

[Greyhound]

35. It is true, and I imagine he was an even bigger bastard than has

been written about since history does clean it up quite a bit. OTOH I've never met anyone that has or covets real power that wasn't a bastard. I wish it weren't so, but it is, so we're left with judging them by a scale of bastardness versus accomplishment.
Also, we should never forget that they literally put everything on the line to give us the chance at liberty. :shrug:

[Inland]

33. Yep. The parallel is there, all right. nt

[Greyhound]

28. K & R

[Tsiyu]

34. If he really cared about Gawd, he would shut his HUGH111!!!!!! trap

Becuzz King George was annointed by Gawd!

Paine is a Gawdless librul who should be sent to Guantanamo - when they build it, that is.

[Zomby Woof]

36. You are close to the truth there

A few decades later, he penned "The Age of Reason", and he stayed self-exiled from the U.S. because he was so widely hated for daring to question the validity of the Bible. He had accrued much debt, the main reason he was away, but after being vilified in America so much, he wasn't about to set foot in it after that book.

Typical of America - we vilify those who make us THINK, and he HELPED FOUND the country!