To the Editor:

“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 his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have the consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” — Thomas Paine, “The American Crisis.”

Our world is hanging in the balance once again; every generation has to deal with a new sense of doom as society advances, and we lament the evil (yes, I said evil) that abounds. The challenges of today are more serious than rock ’n’ roll and hippies (the headaches for our parents and grandparents) and akin to the two world wars, with stronger nuclear weapons thrown in.

There are numerous authors and pundits out there looking for support regarding solutions. Can we conquer the apathy in the nation? What is needed is another Thomas Paine. I know that he had his own beliefs that diverged from the policies of the new American nation. However, he knew that freedom from England would create something “revolutionary.”

Thomas Paine’s inspirational words will never be inconvenient or innocuous; he rallied Americans to revolution with “Common Sense,” and to not give up with “The American Crisis.” Lease don’t dismiss these words; by the same token, they are not a call to arms but a call to action. I hope that no matter what your age, his words stir some sense of emotion to support the more wondrous aspects of this “great experiment.”

Margie Mortensen

John Day