The purpose of the media in any form is to express oneself and to stand up for one’s beliefs. When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense nearly three hundred years ago. He did so as a call to action against British authority. This is something that we see every day on TV, social media and on various forums. Some of what is written is important and needs to be addressed for the benefit of society, rather it is society as a whole or a sub-section. Some of what people rant and complain about is personal to them. Either way, these individuals have evoked change, even, if it was only a tiny flicker of doubt in someone’s head. This tiny flicker given enough oxygen turns into a raging inferno. This is something one can imagine Thomas Paine doing.
Paine if he were alive today would be quite comfortable articulating his grievances with both society and the government from his computer screen. He would most likely head up organizations similar to Anonymous, and perhaps he would divulge top secret information to the public ala Edward Snowden. In fact, from what is known about Paine, he would have supported Snowden decision to release the information to the public. Even if Paine would keep top secret government information out of the public eye, he would find a way to warn us of what was happening.
Nonetheless, while I believe that Paine’s influence is still strong in media, especially on the internet. It is not as strong as it should be. This is because no one has conviction in regards to their words. How many time have we come across a story of a celebrity or someone saying something that causes a media uproar? That person almost always releases an apology or a retraction of what they said. Even if their opinion is absolutely wrong, hateful, cruel or whatever. It is their opinion which they should not be bullied into giving the illusion of changing. The idea that one can only have and publically state opinions that others agree with is very anti-Paine. In fact, Paine would most likely attribute his following words to such matters.” You will do me the justice to remember, that I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it” (Paine).
This is because Paine was all about the right to expression oneself and he would have expressed his beliefs and opinions without care of the backlash he may have received. He believed along with Thomas Jefferson that the media was there to allow people to “spread ideas, to allow fearless argument, to challenge and question authority, to set a common social agenda.” (Katz). As Paine was pretty modern in his thinking for a man of the 1700’s he would most likely find himself as an advocate for many human rights causes. Paine would write his opinions on these matters in crisp clear language that would have been easy for everyone to comprehend. According to Katz, Paine would have been quite comfortable with the language of the internet and the abbreviated ways of many writers.
While, Paine would have the idea on a connected society. He was not very comfortable in social settings. One can imagine him writing his protestations of society from the anonymity of the internet. Just like many people today. The big difference between a lot of people today and Paine is emotion. Many people commenting on forums, writing blog posts or even writing news articles are depending on emotions and bullying to sway the reader to their opinion. Any victories obtained with this approach should be hallow. This is because that person did not truly change anyone’s mind, but got the internet equivalent of being patted on the head and told that they are right. Paine knew that while emotion is important, it is facts and rational that make it possible for a person see something in a different light. Paine would have a grand time having a semi- civil and intelligent debate with someone on the internet who would have an opinion that differs from his. This would be why he would not be very comfortable with mainstream media. Paine would take offense to the blatant agendas promoted by many news corporations, rather it be “Fox News”, “The Daily Show” or The New York Times. He would be against the bias nature of the news media.
Paine would be an annoyance not only to the public but also to the government. He would be unceasing in his attempts to get the government to enact reforms and policies that he would believe to benefit the country. He would do this by rallying people on the internet, and perhaps by sending out pamphlets and flyers. Ultimately Paine’s aim would be for media to return to giving the people the truth even when it differs from one’s own agenda.
Works Cited
Katz, Jon. "The Age of Paine". WIRED. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Lepore, Jill. "The Sharpened Quill - The New Yorker". The New Yorker. N.p., 2006. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Paine, Thomas. "The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine". Marxists.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
