Common Sense, authored
by Thomas Paine in 1776 argued that the American Colonies had a common identity
and should not be subject to British Colonial rule. Paine wrote in a straight
forward and simple way, appealing to a common audience. At the time of its
publishing, many colonists were undecided about independence.
How does an aged
piece of parchment, printed on defunct presses by hand compare to our modern,
high tech, fast paced world?
In many ways, Paine’s work can be considered a past version
of the modern day blog. He was a pissed off trouble maker with a sharp pen,
writing about how the world around him made no sense. He felt strongly about
what he had to say and shared that opinion.
Without the assistance of an Dramatic Chipmunk video or a picture
of a wardrobe malfunction, his words went viral in the colonies. 25 editions
were printed in the first year; over 500,000 copies were distributed in the
days when a fast horse was considered instant communication. His words changed
the minds of many undecided colonists, leading to a fight for American
Independence.
A lot of things are worthy of pissing people off in our
society. Maybe they don’t have the far reaching scope of inciting
rebellion…maybe they do. From the mundane to the infuriating, we are going to
share what pisses us off, perhaps you agree.
