Yesterday the American Humanist Association, meeting in Philadelphia, and the local Freethought Society held an event on Independence Mall commemorating the 20th anniversary of the City's first proclaiming Thomas Paine Day.
One of the interesting things I learned is that Paine's favorite toast was, "To the revolution of the world." This has a familiar ring to those of us schooled in the concept of "the world revolution" as an ongoing process. And the same speaker confirmed the idea that it' s ongoing, describing events in places like Zuccotti Park, Tahrir Square, and the Maidan as continuing Paine's revolutionary-democratic legacy.
Although I suspect most of those attending the Happy Hour afterwards aren't yet revolutionaries in the way Paine was, it was gratifying that they all joined in when Stephen Gulick, who'd spoken as his admirer as well as an impersonator, raised this same toast.
To the revolution of the world!
Monday, June 09, 2014
"To the Revolution of the World"
Posted by stripey7 at 10:21 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I love coming to your blog every few months and catching up. No pressure, but you should write more! All your observations about everything are so spot on!
Post a Comment