A free country where the law is king

On Saturday, April 19, protests were held around the country, many of them with titles like “No Kings” and “protest to protect democracy. The point was to protest the autocratic actions of Donald Trump, who in only three months in office has lived up to his promise to be a “dictator from day one.” There were 150 people protesting on the square in Cookeville, 130 in Crossville, and thousands of others around the state and the country.

April 19th also happened to be the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which was the beginning of the American Revolution – “the shot heard ‘round the world.” The night before was the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride to warn the colonial militia that “the British are coming.”

Thinking of April 19, 1775, reminded me of some words written a few months later, in June 1776, by Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet “Common Sense,” which laid out arguments in favor of democracy and against submitting to the rule of a king. Paine refers to April 19 and also lays out what the new country should one day be. In speaking to the crowd in Cookeville, I thought an excerpt of Paine’s words was the perfect thing to present. Take out “England” or “Britain” and replace it with “Trump,” and you’ll see what I mean. So here is what I read to them - the all-caps words at the end were written that way by Paine.

“No man was a warmer wisher for a reconciliation than myself before the fatal nineteenth of April 1775, but the moment the event of that day was made known, I rejected the hardened, sullen-tempered Pharaoh of England forever; and disdain the wretch, that with the pretended title of FATHER OF HIS PEOPLE can unfeelingly hear of their slaughter, and composedly sleep with their blood upon his soul. The independence of America should have been considered as dating its era from, and published by, the first musket that was fired against her.

“When William the Conqueror subdued England, he gave them law at the point of the sword; and until we consent that the seat of government in America be legally and authoritatively occupied, we shall be in danger of having it filled by some fortunate ruffian, who may treat us in the same manner, and then where will be our freedom? where our property?

“As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of government to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which government hath to do therewith. For myself, I fully and conscientiously believe that it is the will of the Almighty that there should be a diversity of religious opinions among us; and on this liberal principle I look on the various denominations among us to be like children of the same family.

“So.

“Resolution is our inherent character, and courage hath never yet forsaken us. Wherefore, what is it that we want [lack/need]? Why is it that we hesitate? From Britain we can expect nothing but ruin. If she is once admitted to the government of America again, this Continent will not be worth living in. Jealousies will be always arising; insurrections will be constantly happening; and who will go forth to quell them?

“For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other. The Almighty hath implanted in us these unextinguishable feelings for good and wise purposes. They are the guardians of his image in our hearts. They distinguish us from the herd of common animals. The social compact would dissolve, and justice be extirpated [removed] from the earth, or have only a casual existence, were we callous to the touches of affection. The robber and the murderer would often escape unpunished, did not the injuries which our tempers sustain provoke us into justice.  O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia and Africa have long expelled her.—Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for all mankind.

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again. The birthday of a new world is at hand.

“WHEREFORE, instead of gazing at each other with suspicious or doubtful curiosity, let each of us hold out to his neighbor the hearty hand of friendship and unite in drawing a line which, like an act of oblivion, shall bury in forgetfulness every former dissension. Let the names of Whig and Tory be extinct; and let none other be heard among us than those of a good citizen, an open and resolute friend, and a virtuous supporter of the RIGHTS of MANKIND and of the FREE AND INDEPENDENT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”

To summarize: Kings are bad. Democracy is good. The way things were (and once again are) must not be allowed to continue; we must have the courage to stand up against it. It is okay to be angry, to be “provoked to justice.” and to struggle against injustice. America is meant to be a beacon of hope to the world - a republic without a king, of the people, by the people, and for the people, which can inspire other countries to rise up against tyrants…and, if they fail, come join us, for we welcome the fugitive and provide asylum for the whole world. We must put aside all prior differences and stand up together for human rights.

Preach, Thomas Paine. Preach.

(Troy D. Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at Tennessee Tech and serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.)