Arnold, CA…Today is the 353rd day of the year, 12 days remain until the end of the year. Our Bit of Wisdom from history for December 19th is from Thomas Paine. On this day in 1776 he published the first of his American Crisis pamphlets under the pen name of Common Sense. These were some of the sparks that fanned into flames that led to our Independence. Thomas Paine, February 9, 1737 – June 8, 1809

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”

“I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.”

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”

“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.”

“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”

“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.”

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”