Thomas Paine quotes relevant today . . .

[Frogman]

Some quote from Revolutionary War thinker Thomas Paine are relevant today . . .



“Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.”

“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”

“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”

“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”

“From the errors of other nations, let us learn wisdom,”

“I do not choose to be a common person. It is my right to be uncommon-- if I can. I seek opportunity--not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the State look after me. I want to take the calculated risk--to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence, the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid, to think and to act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, This, with God's help, I have done. All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur!”

“We still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry and grasping at the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised to furnish new pretenses for revenue and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without a tribute.”

“That government is best which governs least.”


Jim