tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post2289029259661755634..comments2023-07-08T09:00:54.916-07:00Comments on A Common Reader: Common Sense and Thomas Paine: what is it about that pamphlet?Dwighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13688525659034403580noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-26081805346257007372013-07-09T04:37:04.747-07:002013-07-09T04:37:04.747-07:00Jefferson and Adams hating Plato's Republic is...Jefferson and Adams hating Plato's Republic is interesting. Of course Adams would hate it. He really opposed extremism and I see him as very practical. While I see Jefferson was often attracted to more radical, even utopian ideas the actual society depicted in The Republic was indeed very off the wall and I can even see Jefferson disliking it.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-65826691280789256102013-07-06T07:36:09.359-07:002013-07-06T07:36:09.359-07:00Freeman is a lot of fun to listen to. And yes, Pai...Freeman is a lot of fun to listen to. And yes, Paine adds some flourishes. And some biting sarcasm at times, too. He seems intent on ticking off all the right people.Dwighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688525659034403580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-84013362433132023682013-07-05T20:20:11.507-07:002013-07-05T20:20:11.507-07:00Hey! I am listening to Freeman's series! Or ...Hey! I am listening to Freeman's series! Or at least, I began it; one a week. I love her.<br /><br />I think it's a great idea to listen to CS; will have to get myself a recording.<br /><br />He puts in some wild rhetorical flourishes, IIRC? Ones that don't make a ton of sense if you think about them but were certainly rousing.<br /><br />Thanks for a great couple of posts.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-23562959860571594012013-07-05T06:58:18.188-07:002013-07-05T06:58:18.188-07:00In Lecture 10, Professor Freeman has a great way o...In Lecture 10, Professor Freeman has a great way of putting it: the pamphlet was popular culture, not low culture.<br /><br />I listened as well as read <i>Common Sense</i> and it may be even easier to listen to than read, an important point for colonists who weren't literate.<br /><br />Oh, one point Freeman ended with which was interesting, although I don't know the facts beyond her claims. She said Adams and Jefferson also both hated Plato's <i>Republic</i> as well as <i>Common Sense</i>. Is it a case of idealism vs. realism (or maybe better put as practicality)? I'm not sure there's a correlation but apparently there was consistency for the two.Dwighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688525659034403580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-30981287117132332632013-07-05T02:50:06.631-07:002013-07-05T02:50:06.631-07:00Some historians argue that one vital, and for the ...Some historians argue that one vital, and for the time, unique, aspects of Paine's writings was that unlike almost every other writer of political note at the time, he was aiming at the masses as opposed as for the elite. Thus, it is not surprising that some of the other founders were critical of it. <br /><br />The John Adam's quote is hilarious and characteristic of him.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.com