Common Sense

President Biden’s speech brings to mind the words of English-born American Founding Father Thomas Paine. Shortly after America declared its independence from Britain when morale in Washington’s army was low and desertions rampant, Paine, author of Common Sense and The American Crisis, wrote: “These are the
times that try men’s souls.”

More than just a rallying cry for soldiers to stay the course in the face of hopelessness, it was an appeal to dispirited Americans in a very dark hour to remain steadfast in the pursuit of self-rule. With democracy under siege nearly 250 years later, America is in desperate need of another dose of common sense to address the unrelenting assault on the rule of law by Donald Trump and the MAGA minions.

While the media and political pundits obsess over every tweet, comment, and court proceeding of Trump,
President Biden goes about the business of being head of state. Facing political headwinds from the moment he was elected, due principally to the unprecedented attempts of his predecessor to thwart the transfer of power, Biden, with his decades of experience in public service, rose above the noise and proceeded to do the work of “We the People.”

More than just an introduction, the preamble to the Constitution is an affirmation that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens, not the interests of a particular political party or ideology, and certainly not those of a single individual.

Much like an insurance policy, the Constitution provides protection against a possible eventuality. That includes efforts to undermine democracy by anyone with designs on despotic rule. You cannot be the leader of the free world if you aspire to be a dictator, even if it is “for one day.” The Constitution won’t allow it.

Jim Paladino
Tampa