I. Introduction: Paine’s Legacy and Our Present Moment
When Thomas Paine penned Common Sense in 1776, his words did more than challenge monarchy—they lit a fire under a sleeping people. He turned murmured dissent into a movement and transformed moral clarity into political revolution. He wrote for the common man, with uncommon boldness.
If Paine were alive today, what would Common Sense look like?
In an age of:
- Corporate-government collusion,
- Media disinformation,
- Cultural self-destruction,
- Political cowardice,
- Moral relativism,
- Technocratic control,
…Paine would once again write not with diplomacy, but with righteous fire, calling citizens to reject their silent slavery.
This article is a thought-experiment: What would Common Sense say in 2025?
II. The New Monarchy: Tyranny in a Technocratic Mask
1. Government No Longer Represents the People
Paine would expose how:
- Elected officials serve corporate donors, not constituents.
- Bureaucracies write thousands of regulations per year, bypassing Congress and accountability.
- Courts often twist the Constitution into political convenience.
“That government is best which governs least. But today, it governs most, and serves the few.”
He would call for:
- Strict constitutionalism.
- Separation of money from politics.
- Civic engagement from the bottom up.
2. Digital Despotism: Censorship and Surveillance
Paine would see the parallels between King George’s spies and modern surveillance capitalism.
He would attack:
- Mass data collection by tech giants,
- Algorithmic manipulation of thought,
- Government-corporate censorship of dissenting views.
“A man who cannot speak his mind freely is a slave in a velvet cage.”
He would call for:
- The abolition of digital censorship,
- A digital bill of rights,
- Decentralized platforms,
- An end to “fact-checker” ministries of truth.
III. Moral Bankruptcy: From Virtue to Vice
Paine believed liberty was impossible without virtue.
Today, he would rage against:
- The normalization of perversion and gender confusion in children’s schools,
- The commodification of sex, love, and life,
- The apathy of religious institutions that preach comfort over repentance.
“A people who abandon truth in the name of tolerance have neither liberty nor virtue.”
He would challenge:
- Churches to rediscover courage,
- Schools to teach moral character,
- Parents to retake authority from state indoctrinators.
IV. Education: Indoctrination, Not Illumination
Paine would see today’s education system not as enlightenment but as a factory of compliance.
He would condemn:
- The erasure of history,
- The obsession with identity politics,
- The absence of logic, debate, and civic virtue.
“They teach children to obey trends, not truth.”
He would advocate:
- Local control over education,
- Moral and historical literacy,
- The end of federal involvement in curricula.
V. Economic Chains: From Producers to Dependents
Paine warned against economic bondage. He would rail against:
- A system that rewards speculation over labor,
- The Federal Reserve’s manipulation of currency,
- Mass debt-slavery through inflation and consumerism,
- The rise of digital currencies as tools of control.
“He who holds the purse controls the people.”
He would demand:
- Honest money (e.g., gold-backed or decentralized),
- Local economies and self-reliance,
- An end to debt-based governance.
VI. The Corporate Aristocracy: Modern-Day Monarchs
Just as Paine attacked royalty, he would go after:
- Billionaire elites with globalist agendas,
- Unelected bureaucrats in international organizations,
- WEF-style technocrats reshaping societies without consent.
“They wear no crown, but they wield far greater power.”
He would call them:
- “The new Lords of the Earth,”
- And would call for the people to break their psychological submission to these manufactured authorities.
VII. Media: The New Church of Propaganda
Paine would liken modern media to the corrupt clergy of 18th-century Europe—gatekeepers of falsehood.
He would denounce:
- Corporate news outlets as “priests of misinformation,”
- Social media as “the pulpit of the crowd-mob,”
- Cultural influencers as “apostles of mediocrity.”
“Truth is not what is repeated, but what withstands scrutiny.”
He would call for:
- Independent, citizen-driven journalism,
- Freedom of inquiry,
- A return to first principles.
VIII. Political Parties: The Machinery of Mass Manipulation
Paine was not a party man. He would abhor what the GOP and Democrats have become—two heads of the same beast.
He would criticize:
- The RINO class for betraying principle for power,
- The progressive left for destroying virtue under the guise of justice,
- The political theater that numbs the public into passive spectatorship.
“To be loyal to a party at the expense of truth is to surrender your soul.”
He would urge:
- Primary revolutions,
- Independent coalitions rooted in natural law and constitutional fidelity,
- Courageous citizens to run—not for career—but for conscience.
IX. Common Sense Today: A Call to Self-Government
What would Common Sense demand in 2025?
- Awaken your mind: Do not consume media without question.
- Anchor your soul: Return to moral and spiritual foundations.
- Rebuild the Republic: From local elections to family tables, restore citizen rule.
- Refuse fear: Tyrants rely on the timid. Liberty belongs to the brave.
- Revive your role: Don’t wait for rescue—be the resistance.
X. Conclusion: If Paine Spoke Today
“These are the times that try men’s souls…” — Paine, 1776
“These are the times that expose men’s allegiance—to truth or to tyranny.” — Paine, 2025 (imagined)
If Paine lived today, he would not edit his words to fit algorithms. He would not kneel before cultural approval. He would not ask for permission to speak.
He would rise, write, and call for a people to remember who they are.
He would remind us:
- That truth is timeless.
- That tyranny wears new costumes.
- That freedom demands courage, character, and common sense.
