The Declaration of Independence begins, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”

While the notion of an independent United States had been an idea that was a long time coming, the document that gave the idea birth was not the one signed in 1776 but the one written between 1775 and 1776, that was the pamphlet known as Common Sense.

Written by a rebel rouser, Thomas Paine, it was Common Sense that presented American colonists with an argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. This writing transformed a tax rebellion into a full-scale fight for self-determined government. At the time of its publication, the 13 colonies were inhabited by around two million freepersons. Paine’s book sold over 120,000 copies within three months of publication. The book was a bestseller earning Paine the tile of “Father of the Revolutions.”

Sadly, Paine is all but forgotten yet his words laid the foundational reasoning behind American independence.

Of course, the man who penned the Declaration of Indepedence wrote 50 years after “…May it [the Declaration of Independence] be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.” This was a paragraph in the last letter Jefferson ever wrote and while prophetic we are yet to see all nations, men or women enjoy the blessing of liberty or the rights thereof.

There are many who will argue that within the U.S. itself our liberties have eroded rather than expanded.

In a short 200-plus years we have seen complacency replace patriotic defiance and the will of the governed usurped by the governing.

Most of us have long ago realized that our elected officials merely pay lip service to the will of the people.

Moreover they play a game of Monopoly within a labyrinth of rules that have but one objective—power for the player.

Retaining control is the objective and that means perpetual campaigns for permanent majority.

Therefore, honest voices are seldom heard and even those use a calculated text to commit without commitment and promise without premise.

Their words like a mythical elixir arouse the mind but numb the soul like a sugar fix boasts the body’s energy for a time and then leaves it fatigued and wasted.

But, from time-to-time there comes a voice that distils an idea succinctly that souls ignite and the world becomes full of revelation.

Thomas Paine was such a man, his writing was the inspiration for the American revolution.

I see no one of that clarity on the political stage today. Paine died a miserable man abandon by friends and dismissed by foes, he was a very disagreeable man, he pandered to no one, principle before praise, his pen a sharp instrument for the rights of citizens.

In his pamphlet The American Crisis he wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country….” As we see everyday, those who seek to lead only follow polls and those who apply for our trust willingly deceive for an extra vote.

These are sunshine patriots who put a flag on their lapel to hide the shame in their deeds, who proclaim agreement with the constitution as long no one can find the recording of their contradictions.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July we should remember that bravery, honor and patriotism are words that have meaning and consequences.

Like Paine said, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”

These words and others helped Americans to faced their long struggle with the British. It is said that, to inspire his troops, George Washington ordered Paine’s The American Crisis to be read out.

John Adams would later say, “Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.”

Today we remain a nation rooted in the words of Paine and Jefferson where the rule of law is above the rule of man, even though it does appear that the government, on whole, has forgotten its oath.

But the pendulum will one day swing again with grace, the clock’s hands will unwind, the alarm will ring and wake our nation to the meaning of liberty and law that is so boldly our heritage