On this Independence Day 2021, Gary Berton will enlighten us on Enlightenment icon (and our Fellowship’s namesake), Thomas Paine, whose writings inspired the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Paine’s first principles are few, but he held one, Justice, as a “foundational” principle because it combines the essence of the others. A letter from Paine on his deathbed, just revealed last month, testifies to his focused struggle to awaken the world to the possibility of real Democracy, Rational Existence, and Justice Implemented.
Gary Berton is president of the Thomas Paine National Historical Society, associate editor of The Collected Works of Thomas Paine Project, and a member of the Thomas Paine Memorial Committee.
Topics: Justice, Religious Exploration, UU Principles