His fervor for American liberty and hatred for a King that would abuse his subjects resonated with ordinary Americans. His ideas swept around the colonies and gave them a vision of what could be. One passage in particular served as a call to arms to many, and is incredibly inspiring.
Paine describes in one of his letters an encounter that he had with a British loyalist. The loyalist did not support the act of Revolution which was taking place. At the end of their discussion, the father said with his child in his arms, "Well! give me peace in my day." Paine wrote:
'Well! give me peace in my day.' Not a man
lives on the continent but fully believes that
a separation must some time or other finally
take place, and that a generous parent should
have said,
'If there must be trouble, let it be in my day,
that my child may have peace;'
and this single reflection, well applied, is
sufficient to awaken every man to duty.
This is the thing. This is the belief that I know was shared by every single man on this wall. They knew the risks. They accepted the sacrifices. What they did not accept, was that someone else, their child, their brother, their friend should be forced to make those sacrifices. Our nation was created and is maintained on the blood, sweat and tears of millions of men and women who decided that they would make the effort, so that others would not have to. That is what has allowed America to experiment and thrive under a revolutionary form of Government - one that has allowed the common man and woman to enjoy more freedom and more rights than have ever been enjoyed in known history.
The American experiment is the culmination of thousands of years of philosophy, government, political thought, and evolution. It was forged in the fires of oppression and tyranny, stood up to armies and navies, and not only survived, but catapulted onto the global stage as a major player. We have nicks and scrapes, we have scars and bumps, but we have truth and liberty written into the very fabric of our society. The social changes and upheavals that have largely began in America have transformed the world to make it more fair, just, and tolerant of all humans.
In the end, this was only ever possible because of them.
So the next time you see a struggle, the next time you have a chance to make the world a better place, I hope that you can say, "let it be in my day."
