“When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”

So true and so eloquently put.Interested people should check out "the Thomas Paine Project"@wintersoldier.org for similar writings from and about Thomas Paine.A great American Patriot of the Revolutionary War Days.

I THINK THOMAS PAIN WAS A GREAT MAN IN HISTORY AND SHALL REMAIN A GREAT MAN IN HISTORY

Paine is saying that, "if we are born able to think, then why shouldn't we." but also saying that thinking along with the "certain unalienable rights" cannot be withdrawn without also taking our freedoms and rights, therefore comes the term'' liberty''. I'm only in 10th grade and I know that.

Well said I wish we had men like him today. I fear for our homes & Fire sides

From my experience, parroting a party line (political, religious, societal, etc.), just because it is in vogue with a peer group or gives a sense of superiority does not qualify with the "thinking" of Payne's here statement. By definition, liberty is an omnipresent with nature's law while being discovered through a thoughtful measuring of palpable facts and evidence. Each person experiences different facts from personal experiences (my political, religious, societal, etc. experiences are mine personally to think about). Not thinking dilutes any ability to recognize liberty's reality.

Men are always thinking, the problems arise when trying to get the children to start.  When the games stop, the thinking begins.