'Common Sense' By Thomas Paine

The American way has been paved by many great thinkers but none may be as important to our current circumstances as Thomas Paine. In his article “Common Sense” he provided a call for independence from the British Monarchy. He clearly lays out the problem with the current British method of rule, saying “Monarchy and succession have laid… the world in blood and ashes. ‘Tis a form of government which the word of God bears testimony against, and blood will attend it” (Pain, 1776). The major value he presents in his writing is “Liberty”. He believes this liberty can be attained through recognizing the rights of every person and allowing everyone the opportunity to have their voices heard through elected representation (Pain, 1776). This is a

Although he may be considered an anarchist, I agree with many of his beliefs to a point. He states, “That government is best which governs the least” (Thoreau, n.d.). This I believe is true, in that, the ever expanding regulations and restrictions set up by the government tend to stifle our liberty. Although most regulations are set up with the best of intentions they tend to bog down the free spirit of America. I feel that letting the free market create its own “regulations” through supply and demand is the best course of action in most cases. The greatest value he presented, that I could not agree more with, was that of respecting dissent. He stated, “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of majority” (Throeau, n.d.). This is a great call to fight for what we believe in through any means possible. With the expansion of social media dissent and the ability to have your voice be heard is easier than ever. This may be a good countermeasure to the apparent loss of liberty through our increasing ratio of representatives to those being