I just read an article about Thomas Paine's thoughts on the British, and i enjoyed reading it the most out of anything we've read so far this year. This is because I admire him so much for using analogies rather than being harsh and going into details about the British. This shows how many points he had, and how much evidence he had to back up his ideas.
"If we reason to the root of things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the other. Let them call me rebel, and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I shou8ld suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whos character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubbord, worthless, brutish man" (53).
"It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf; and we ought to guard equally against both" (53).
These two quotes helped me understand what he was trying to express. Thomas Paine seemed to be one of the most commited men in town, and he seemed to illustrate the saying "stand up for what you believe in" in this article. Thomas Paine put a lot of images in my head, and his words are extremely convincing. Even if I didn't know that he was talking about how we needed to win the American Revolution, his perspective and analogies convinced me enough. An interesting article I read.
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