*This subject is broken up into two entries.*
I've been trying to figure out the best way to write about this subject and haven't found the perfect way or the most intellectual way to go about it. I first thought about this subject because of the Marvel comic 'What if....' (weird, I know, but read on) which explores the comic world if different situations happened or didn't happen. So, I took this and thought about my schooling background. I took the the 'what if' situations and applied it to historical people. Most minds immediately go towards John Kennedy. What if he hadn't been assassinated. Same thing with Abraham Lincoln. I tend to think of different people throughout history. Personally, I think JFK would have faltered if he was not assassinated. He thought with the wrong head.
I want to explore two people. Robert Kennedy and Thomas Paine. Paine lived out a full life dying at the age of seventy two. Kennedy, obviously, did not being killed at the age of forty two. Buckle up people, this shit is about to get heavy.
Thomas Paine is someone that I knew about while in high school and in college but I never really explored and looking back at it, I wish I had. It may have changed my outlook on life or certain aspects of it. I never really thought someone who was considered a founding father would also be considered a radical. Revolutionary? Yes, but a radical? Not so much. Radicals are usually thought of as 'bad guys'. Crazy people that live up in the hills of the country. Making moonshine. When talking about the forming of this country, what names come to mind? Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, (maybe) Madison. And those are just a few. Paine should be introduced early and often in schools. And maybe he is, but he just wasn't in my high school. Thomas Paine, to me in school, wrote a pamphlet or two. It was a historical footnote to me. Then I read his writings. Common Sense, Age of Reason, and Rights of Man are what he is famous for. They blew my mind. They rate up there with the Communist Manifesto. It is on that level. If he hadn't been born, what would our world be like? It may not be very different today, but when he was alive and kickin', that is a different story. He was the crazy guy writing above everyone else. He is the reason Deism even exists (in my opinion). He carried it on when other guys no one has ever heard of died off. Deism needs to become more prevalent in today's society. It can resolve some major issues (but this is another entry all together). I like the thought of Deism, but don't tell my mom (HI MOM!! :o))
Had he never lived or never written, I think that the world may be a little bit of a darker place. Even if you don't agree with what he stands for or what he has written, it is worth taking a look. At the least, it is enlightening. It is in no real way controversial. It was just his outlook on life. Had he not lived or written, I may not be the person I am today. Sure I would have the same thoughts and outlooks on certain things, but I could be less....thoughtful. I don't know if that is the word I want to use, but that is the word that came to mind. I wouldn't be as conscience of things.
His influences are far reaching. He delved into politics, religion, and daily life. Nothing was off limits. He influenced people like Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln. Even Thomas Edison. Who knew. His outlook on life and religion have even influenced me. There is a sentence that after I read it, I kind of adopted it as my life motto. It has worked out well for me living in the state of Kansas as religions as it is. Religion is a very volatile subject no matter who you talk to. I leave you with the sentence that really grabbed my attention to Thomas Paine and honestly made me rethink some aspects of my life:
'My own mind is my own church.' -Thomas Paine "The Age of Reason"
No comments:
Post a Comment