Forum Post: We furnish the means by which we suffer
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 17, 2011, 8:06 p.m. EST by weepngwillo2
(277)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in it's best state, is but a necessary evil; in it's worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer." ~Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Some would say this is taken out of context, it is too old to be relevent, there is no king to fight against.
I argue that, once again, we are in the position where a priveleged few control everything from government to commerce to information to taxes. Before we go too far we should remember all of the tools we already have access to.
Www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/singlehtml.htm
Take away government and the criminal few control everything through brutal violence, as they once did everywhere. The end result of an anarchist state like Somalia is the evolution of government. If you are reading this on a broadband internet connection, you are one of the privileged top 5% of humanity, with a life expectancy and standard of living that outstrips that of nearly everyone in the history of humanity. Yet still you feel hard done by?
Not I, nor Thomas Paine suggested abandoning the government. Please read more of his document before you jump to such conclusions. In fact he states as I included in the quote that Government is a NECESSARY evil. Please for your own personal knowlege, read the document referenced here. It is one of the founding documents of our country and government.