Paine was an Anglo-American political theorist and writer from England. In December 1776, Paine wrote the first in a series of sixteen pamphlets called The Crisis. These essays were widely distributed and did much to encourage the patriot cause throughout the American Revolution. In 1787 he went to England and while there wrote The Rights of Man, defending the French Revolution. Its basic premise was that there are natural rights common to all men and that only democratic institutions are able to guarantee these rights. Paine's attack on English institutions led to his prosecution for treason and subsequent flight to Paris. There, as a member of the National Convention, he took a significant part in French affairs. During the Reign of Terror, he was imprisoned by the Jacobins. During this time he wrote his famous deistic, anti-biblical work, The Age of Reason, that alienated many people.

To alienate some people, all you have to do is question their religious rituals and dogma. And I try my best to alienate these nuts as quickly as possible. I don't remember exactly what year it was, but I do know it was before 1967. A guy tried to have me charged with helping his religious fanatic brother commit suicide. As my luck would have it, this nut had said in my presence that the world was too evil, and he was going to kill himself. With three witnesses standing there, I said, "Well, if you run out of guts, and need a little help, call on me." I had forgotten about this conversation, so when this guy showed up asking to borrow one of my shotguns, I loaned it to him. And boom! Right there on my front porch he blows his head off.

"Men who believe absurdities will commit atrocities."   -Voltaire

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