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- [00:00]
Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human
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this July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history.
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It's more than just fireworks.
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Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block party tickets now for $17.76cent@america250.org
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LA It's America's 250th, but you deserve some presents too. Simon Malls mills and premium outlets have can't miss sales July 3rd to 5th join Simon plus our new rewards program for free and get 2.5 times the points. In addition to extra savings, cash back and offers that also work@shopsimon.com grab the fam, head to a Simon center and make it a day for the books. It's a sale, a bration thing. Sign up today@SimonPlus.com rewards program terms. Apply CSUN DiamondPlus.com for details.
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Armstrong
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Joe Getty
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Armstrong
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Joe Getty
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Armstrong
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Announcer
The first ever X Games League championship is going down live and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports. A season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick, Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't the moment it becomes history.
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Joe Getty
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio
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Announcer
Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.
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Joe Getty
Armstrong and Getty.
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Announcer
And now, here's Armstrong and Getty.
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Joe Getty
Hey, friends. Joe. Here I am on vacation. I was feeling kind of bad that I was missing the final shows before Independence day, especially the 250th birthday of our country as I adore this country, as I make clear every day on the air. And I was thinking about what I could do to celebrate our birthday. And I started thinking about Common Sense, the famous pamphlet from Thomas Paine that we've all heard referenced a thousand times. But do you know what's in it and why it was so incredibly influential and why some, some people credit it with really launching the move for independence. I've prepared a four part series that we will be dropping into the show today. I hope you enjoy it. God bless this wonderful country. Happy Independence Day. This is common sense. Episode 1 the Unknown man who Changed America It's January 1776 and the American Revolution had already begun. Eight months earlier, farmers and shopkeepers stood on Lexington Green and faced British regiments at Concord. The King's troops retreated under fire. And at Bunker Hill, more than a thousand British soldiers fell in a battle that proved the colonists could fight. Yet in spite of all that bloodshed, most Americans were not yet seeking independence. They're angry and they're frustrated and they're frightened, but they're not yet revolutionaries. A lot of folks still hope that George III would intervene on their behalf. Many still call them loyal subjects. Even among the delegates meeting in Philadelphia, the idea of complete separation from Britain remained radical and was not the majority view. Then, in the middle of winter, a small pamphlet appeared. Its cover had no famous name. Its author held no office. He commanded no army. He's not even an American. His name is Thomas Paine, and within a few months, he will change the course of history. Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737. And before he came to America, his life was anything but distinguished. He worked as a corset maker for a time. He tried teaching, served as a tax collector, lost jobs, struggled financially, watched several ventures ventures fail. And nothing he did suggested any greatness was on the way. Then in 1774, he met an American living in London, Benjamin Franklin, of all people. Franklin saw something in the struggling Englishman. He provided letters of introduction and encouraged Paine to seek opportunities in the colonies. So Payne arrived in Philadelphia just as the tensions between Britain and America were reaching a boiling point. And within months, he found work as a writer and Editor. He possessed a gift that he hadn't realized he had, the gift that many educated men lacked. He could explain complex political ideas in language ordinary people understood. Many colonial leaders wrote for other leaders. Paine wrote for everyone, like farmers and blacksmiths, merchants and laborers, men who had never read political philosophy, men who'd never attended college, men who nevertheless possessed common sense, which he chose as the title of his pamphlet. The title itself was revolutionary in a way. Paine was suggesting that the issues confronting America were not so complicated that they should be left to experts and aristocrats. Ordinary people could judge them, and ordinary people could decide, and ordinary people could govern themselves. The pamphlet appeared on January 10th of 1776. No one anticipated what would happen next. Copies vanished from booksellers shelves. Printers rushed out new editions. Pamphlets were passed from hand to hand in taverns. Men read passages aloud to gathered crowds in homes. Families discussed Payne's arguments around the fireplace. In military camps, soldiers shared worn copies with comrades who hadn't seen it yet. Historians estimate that as many as 120,000 copies circulated in a population of only about two and a half million people. By 18th century standards, it was a publishing phenomenon. But popularity alone doesn't really explain its impact. The real question is why Americans were ready to hear Paine's message and received it so warmly. And the answer lies in the months just before it was published. In 1775, the Continental Congress had sent what became known as the Olive Branch petition to King George iii. Its purpose was reconciliation. The delegates hoped to restore peace while preserving their natural rights as Englishmen. The king wouldn't even read it. Instead, he declared the colonies to be in rebellion. And that decision shattered many lingering illusions about whether healing could happen. Americans who still hoped for compromise began to wonder whether compromise was even possible. Pain since the moment. And he understood something crucial. The dispute between America and Britain was no longer about taxes. It was no longer about stamps and tea and parliamentary regulations. The issue had become much larger. Who has the right to govern? Why do governments exist? What makes political authority legitimate? These are profound questions, but Paine introduced them with remarkable simplicity. Near the beginning of common sense, he offered a distinction that remains famous today. He wrote, and I quote, society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil. In its worst state, an intolerable one. Now, to modern ears, that statement may sound familiar, but to readers in 1776, it was kind of startling. Paine was stripping government of its mystique. Government was not sacred. Government was not divine. Government existed for practical purposes, its job was to protect liberty and preserve order, nothing more. And if it failed in that mission, citizens had every right to question it. Paine then broadened his argument. The struggle in America, he said, was about more than 13 colonies. It was about human freedom itself. Itself. One of the most memorable passages in the pamphlet declares, and I quote, the cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind. Now notice what Paine's doing. He's transforming a colonial dispute into a universal cause. The conflict is no longer merely Americans versus Britons. It becomes liberty versus arbitrary power, self government versus inherited authority, the future versus the past. Readers felt the power of that vision. They'd complained about British policies for years. But Paine challenged them to imagine an entire different future. A future in which America stood on its own and Americans governed themselves. A future in which independence was not a desperate last resort, but a glorious opportunity for something new. That possibility had rarely been expressed so boldly. And once Americans began considering it, the old assumptions suddenly seemed less certain. Could reconciliation really work? Do we want it to? Can the relationship be repaired? Have events already gone too far? Paine intended to answer those questions, and he'd begin with an argument so simple and obvious that many readers wondered why they'd never thought of it before. Thomas Paine had arrived in America as an obscure immigrant, and within weeks, his words were being discussed from New Hampshire to Georgia. His pamphlet ignited a debate unlike any of the colonies had ever seen. And in the next episode, he'll advance the argument that became the most famous line in Common Sense. Why should an entire continent be governed by a distant island? To be continued.
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Announcer
This is the Armstrong and Getty Show. Please listen as Joe Getty, a truly great American, continues with his very special USA250 feature. Common sense.
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Joe Getty
Joe, here on vacation, but celebrating our nation's birthday with a miniseries on Common Sense. Common Sense, the incredibly influential pamphlet authored by Thomas Paine. Episode 2 A Continent Governed by an Island. So imagine you're standing on a Philadelphia street. It's the winner of 1776. You've lived your entire life as a British subject under the flag. Your parents were subjects. Your grandparents were British subjects. You read British books. You buy British goods. You cheer British victories. The idea of separating from Britain seems almost unimaginable. And then somebody asks a simple question. Why should a continent be governed by an island? Now, the question sounds almost childish, but once Thomas Paine asked it in Common Sense, Americans could not stop thinking about it. For more than 150 years, Britain's North American colonies had existed within the British Empire for much of that time. The arrangement worked reasonably well. The colonies enjoyed considerable freedom, and trade flourished. The population expanded, cities grew. But after the French and Indian War, Britain sought tighter controls over its colonies. Taxes increased, regulations multiplied, disputes intensified. And by the early 1760s, many colonists believed their rights were under attack. And they absolutely were. Still, most sought reform rather than separation. Paine believed that was a mistake. He argued that Americans were focusing on symptoms rather than the root causes. Parliamentary abuses, though they were many, were not the real problem. The real problem was the imperial relationship itself. And to expose its absurdity, he used geography. He wrote, there is something absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. Today's statement seems obvious. In 1776, it was literally revolutionary. Paine was inviting readers to step back and view their situation from a distance. Look at the map, he said, in effect, examine the facts. North America is vast. Britain is small. America's future lies across an enormous ocean. From Britain, why should decisions affecting millions of Americans be made 3,000 miles away, especially when they didn't ask us our opinions when they make them? The argument appealed not only to reason, but to common experience. Colonists understood distance. A letter might require months to cross the Atlantic. Policies often arrived long after conditions had changed. Misunderstandings multiplied. Local concerns were poorly understood by officials in London. And to Paine, that was not merely inconvenient, it was fundamentally irrational. Then he delivered another powerful rhetorical blow. Britney argued, was not protecting America. Britain was protecting Britain's interests. Whenever Britain entered a European conflict, the colonies became involved. Whenever Britain made enemies abroad, Americans paid the price. Colonial commerce suffered. Colonial ports faced danger. Colonial lives were disrupted. Why, Payne asked, should Americans be dragged into quarrels that originated thousands of miles away? Question that is still asked these days. He challenged one of the most cherished assumptions in colonial life, that Britain was America's parent country. Many Americans felt deep emotional ties to England, as we discussed. But Paine attacked that idea directly. He wrote, europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. The colonies, you pointed out were populated by people from many nations. The English, of course, and the Scottish, the Irish, Dutch, Germans, French and others. America was not merely an extension of England. It was becoming something entirely new. A distinct people, a distinct society, distinct customs. The language was changing. Maybe they were even a distinct nation now. The argument resonated because events seemed to support it. It you've got the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord. They shattered old loyalties. Bunker Hill had deepened the divide. The king's refusal to even hear colonial grievances convinced many that reconciliation may not be possible. Paine seized upon that growing sentiment, and he argued that every day spent pursuing compromise only delayed the inevitable. Separation was coming. The only question was whether Americans would embrace it voluntarily or be forced into it by events. By the end of this section of Common Sense, many readers have begun questioning the empire itself. But Paine was not finished. If governing a continent from an island was absurd, he argued, the institution at the center of that empire was even more absurd. Next time, Thomas Paine places monarchy itself on trial. To be continued. Armstrong and Getty. The Armstrong and Getty show.
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Announcer
This is the Armstrong and Getty Show. We return to our very special USA250 feature, Common Sense. But first, this Jack and Joe Jem from the not too distant past.
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Joe Getty
N son Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hail bomb for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of them. Not one stinging big body smell. You know, that gasoline smell. The whole hill smells like
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Announcer
victory.
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Joe Getty
That's Robert Duvall, one of his most
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Armstrong
famous roles in Apocalypse Now. He died over the weekend, 94 or something like that, in his 90s. I didn't realize he was that old. His best role in in my opinion is the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, which if you haven't seen, you should. They should re release that on Netflix or something like that. I think lots and lots of people who never saw it would love it.
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Joe Getty
It's one of the great somewhere.
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Armstrong
It is so good and this, the cast is amazing. And Robert Duvall himself, so that was his greatest role. I remember he said on our show and others that let the English have Hamlet. I'll be Augustus McCray. It was just, just an amazing performance. He was nominated for an Oscar seven times, which is pretty impressive. And won once for Tender Mercies, which I feel like not enough people have seen. Fantastic movie also. Yes, Michael, Lonesome Dove is on Peacock. Oh, is it? Yeah, Maybe that's why I've had several people tell me recently that they re watched Lonesome Dove. And I thought that's a weird coincidence apparently, because it showed up on Peacock and I asked them all if it held up and they said yes, it is really, really well done. It's based on a Pulitzer Prize winning book by Larry McMurtry. So the story is good also. So anywho. So I've always been a Robert Duvall fan and my brother too. And so it was interesting that we were staying at a nice hotel in Gladys. We gave you President's Day off. I don't.
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Joe Getty
You didn't establish that it. Well, I was kind of a reminiscence. I don't know.
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Armstrong
She's got to be on her toes. Her orthopedic shoed toes.
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Joe Getty
You yell at her so much, she can't hear me. Afraid of doing the wrong thing.
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Armstrong
She can't hear me. I can say whatever I want. I only have two minutes. I better get to it. So we're at a fancy hotel, me and my brother in Austin, Texas, and we come down in the lobby, and lo and behold, there's Robert Duvall standing with this big old cowboy. And this guy was old. He looked like he was in his 60s, at least. Big old cowboy. And they're standing there, and I thought I told my brother, that's Robert Duvall. So we walk over and we hang around with, like, a couple other people are standing there because the cowboy's doing something, and everybody's watching the cowboy, not Robert Duvall. Well, what the guy is doing, and it's making Robert Duvall laugh. And he sounded just like Augustus McCrae laughing, which we really enjoyed. But what the guy is doing is he's taking quarters. You could hand him a quarter, and he would bend it back and forth with his fingers and then tear it in half and hand you back a torn quarter.
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Joe Getty
Wow.
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Armstrong
And I thought, that's freaking amazing. I mean, this guy was giant. But I thought, as big as you are. And his thumbs were like my wrists. But I thought, can anybody do that? So anyway, many, many years later, we interview Robert Duvall. A couple years ago on the radio. He had a bul book out, a memoir or something. I don't remember why we had Robert Duvall on the air, but at the very end of the interview, I bring up to him, I say, hey, I gotta ask you. My brother and I were in Austin, Texas, staying at the Omni Hotel. We come down in the lobby, and you're standing there with a big old cowboy who was tearing quarters in half. And he laughs and he says, and I wish I remember the guy's name. He said, oh, yeah, that's Buck Johnson. Good old guy, man. He has really something that was fun.
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Joe Getty
I always liked hanging around with him.
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Armstrong
And I said, well, was that real? Was that a magic trick? He said, no, that guy could tear quarters in half. What?
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Announcer
Wow.
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Joe Getty
Wow.
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Armstrong
Is that possible?
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Joe Getty
I break a sweat trying to tear a dollar bill in half.
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Armstrong
Oh, what a great Robert nuval moment. The way he was laughing at all of us standing around watching, that was just. It was fantastic.
- [20:04]
Announcer
Armstrong and Getty show the Armstrong and
- [20:09]
Getty Show Armstrong and Get.
- [20:17]
On July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- [20:27]
Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history.
- [20:36]
It's more than just fireworks.
- [20:38]
Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Black Party Tickets now for $17.70
- [20:45]
at america250.org LA It's America's 250th, but you deserve some presents too. Simon Malls Mills and Premium outlets have can't miss sales July 3rd to 5th join Simon plus our new rewards program for free and get 2.5 times the points. In addition to extra savings, cash back and offers that also work@shopsimon.com grab the fam, head to assignment center and make it a day for the books. It's a sale, a bration thing. Sign up today@SimonPlus.com rewards program terms apply. See SimonPlus.com for details.
- [21:18]
The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues until now. The X Games League Championship is live From New Orleans, July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from metro Boomin, Jid Subtronics and Bunt Watch on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Stream on the ESPN app, Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.
- [21:48]
Ryan Reynolds
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Announcer
of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent to taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy.
- [22:18]
Ryan Reynolds
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Joe Getty
The Armstrong and Getty show
- [22:54]
Announcer
this is the Armstrong and Getty show with more of our very special USA 250 feature common sense. Common Sense brought to you by the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Now more common sense Joe here on
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Joe Getty
vacation, but celebrating our nation's birthday nonetheless with a miniseries about Thomas Paine's famous pamphlet Common Sense. Episode 3 the Case Against Kings
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Armstrong
on
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Joe Getty
the show every day. And you probably do this too. We criticize politicians. It's ordinary. But in 1776, criticizing a king was something else entirely. Kings ruled by both tradition and law. And many believed kings ruled by divine appointment. And so to challenge a monarch was dangerous. And to challenge monarchy itself was almost unthinkable. But Thomas Paine did that in plain language that persuaded the hard working, commonsensical people of the Americas. So for centuries, monarchy had been one of the defining institutions of European civilization. And people debated whether kings, particular kings, were wise or foolish. Maybe. But few questioned whether kings were necessary. Paine questioned everything. He began with hereditary succession. The principle was simple enough. A crown passed from parent to child. A kingdom became a family inheritance. Paine thought this was ridiculous. No one would choose a carpenter merely because his father had been a carpenter. No one would choose a physician for the same reason. Why should people, millions of people, accept a ruler simply because of his ancestry? He wrote, quote, one of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings is that nature disapproves it. And history supported his argument. Royal families produce capable rulers from time to time. Yeah, but they also produced incompetence, tyrants and fools. The act, the accident of birth, offered no guarantee of wisdom. Yet entire nations were expected to submit to hereditary authority. Paine then turned to scripture. Many Americans, of course, at the time, were deeply religious. And he knew biblical arguments carried enormous weight. He pointed to the Old Testament story in which the Israelites demand a king. According to Paine's interpretation, God warns them that kings will burden and oppress them. Monarchy, therefore, was not divinely mandated. He claimed. It was a human invention and often a harmful one. Then pain became became even more provocative. He challenged the origins of monarchy itself Kings, he argued, frequently owed their position not to virtue, but to conquest. Many royal lines began with warriors who seized power through force. The crown's noble image concealed a more violent reality, so his language grew increasingly sharp. One of the most memorable passages in Common Sense declares, quote of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived to 18th century years. That sentence sounded explosive. Paine was stripping away centuries of reverence for monarchy. He was reducing kings to ordinary men and sometimes less than ordinary men. And his target was not merely King George iii. You know, you swap out a king, you still got a king. It was the entire principle of inherited political authority. Why should some men be born rulers while others are born subjects? Why should liberty depend upon bloodlines? Why would a free people accept permanent inequality and political power for paying the an answer was obvious. They shouldn't. The more readers considered his arguments, the harder it became to defend old assumptions. Perhaps monarchy was not natural. Maybe it wasn't necessary. Maybe it wasn't even beneficial. Those possibilities open the door to something remarkable. If kings are unnecessary, then what's the foundation you build government on? Not inheritance, not conquest, not tradition. How about on consent? Paine had demolished monarchy. Now he faced a more difficult task. If Americans rejected kings, what should they build in their place? The answer would become one of the most radical political visions of the 18th century.
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Announcer
This is the Armstrong and Getty show with more of our very special USA250 feature, Common Sense. Common Sense Sense brought to you by the wisdom of Thomas Paine and presented by Joe Getty. Now more Common Sense.
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Joe Getty
Joe here on vacation, but celebrating our nation's 250th with a special series on Thomas Paine's Common Sense. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I enjoyed preparing it. What an incredible, influential pamphlet and series of thoughts from a common Mexican. This is Common Sense. Episode four, the Birth of a Republic. Revolutions, of course, usually begin with destruction of something. The old order. An old government collapses, an old authority disappears. But destruction isn't enough, as the French figured out. The harder challenge is deciding what comes next. And Thomas Paine understood this. He was not merely calling for Americans to reject British rule. He was asking them to create something new. In 1776, republics were very rare. Most of the world's population lived under monarchs, of course, and the notion that ordinary citizens could govern themselves remained controversial. Many believed democracy would lead to chaos, and Paine disagreed. He believed political power should originate with the people. Government existed to Serve citizens, not the other way around. Representation was essential. Laws should reflect public consent, and officials should always be accountable. Authority should flow upward from the governed. Now, these ideas are familiar to us, and we try like heck to preserve them. But at the time, they were truly revolutionary. Paine proposed representative institutions chosen by voters. He argued for written constitutional arrangements that clearly defined and limited government powers. He emphasized the importance of regular elections. And the people, not a king, would become the ultimate source of legitimacy. What made the argument powerful was its practicality. Paine was not presenting a utopian fantasy. He believed America possessed the resources necessary for independence. Its population was rapidly expanding. It had a thriving economy. American ports were connected to global commerce. Natural resources were then and are now abundant. America, he argued, was capable of standing on its own. And one of his most famous declarations summarized this vision. Short but sweet. Our plan one is commerce. Paine envisioned a nation engaged with the world through trade rather than imperial rivalry. It is amazing how prescient Paine was. So instead of serving British interests, America and Americans could pursue our own prosperity. Instead of inheriting old conflicts, America could chart its own course. The future appeared full of possibility, and Paine wanted the readers to feel that excitement. So again and again, in Common Sense, he urged Americans not merely to escape oppression, but to seize an opportunity. They stood, he said, at a unique moment in history. And it was a chance rarely granted to any people. The chance to design a government, a whole system, from the ground up. Then came one of the most stirring lines in the entire pamphlet. The birthday of a new world is at hand. I don't know about you. I'm getting chills just reading that. That's exciting. And it was more than rhetoric. It was seriously a vision. Paine wanted Americans to see themselves not as rebels preserving old rights, but as founders, creating something unprecedented. The old relationship with Britain belonged to the past, and the future was American. By early 1776, independence was beginning to seem practical, even desirable. And for a lot of readers, it was starting to seem inevitable. But ideas alone don't change history. People do. And in the months ahead, Common sense would spread through the colonies of with astonishing speed. Which brings us to our last section. From Common Sense to Independence. There are few books that really change history. Fewer still change history almost immediately. Common Sense was one of those incredibly rare exceptions. Within months of its publication, its arguments were heard in taverns, churches, military camps, legislative assemblies throughout the colonies. Everybody was talking about it. The debate over independence had entered a new phase. The success of Common Sense was extraordinary. Copies were everywhere. Those unable to read would have someone read it to them aloud. Its arguments went far beyond the printed page. People were talking about it at dinner tables. Merchants would talk about it on the docks as they waited for the ships to anchor. Soldiers carried them into camp. The pamphlet did not create every argument for independence. A lot of those already existed. But what Painted accomplished was different. He brought those arguments together into a clear, compelling narrative that ordinary Americans could understand. Bottom up reasoning, just like the sort of government he was proposing. Most importantly, he made independence seem reasonable. It's not reckless. It's not really radical. It's just reasonable. And political leaders noticed, and public opinion began to shift. Colonial assemblies became more willing to consider separation outlast. Delegates in the Continental Congress sensed that change. It surrounded them. And the momentum that Paine helped generate increasingly pointed toward independence. So In June of 76, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution declaring that the colonies should become free and independent states. Congress debated, committees were formed. Drafts were prepared. Among those chosen to write a declaration was, of course, Thomas Jefferson. With the aid of none other than Thomas Paine's old friend Ben Franklin and John Adams, the resulting document would become one of history's most famous statements of political principle. Its language differed from Paine's, and its style was certainly different. But both reflected a common belief. Government derives its legitimacy from the people and their consent. When government becomes destructive of liberty, the people possess the right to alter or abolish. Those ideas have been strengthened immeasurably by common sense. Then came the decisive moment. On July 2nd of 1776, Congress voted for independence. Two days later, on July 4th, it approved the final text of the Declaration. The break with Britain was complete. The colonies had become the United States of America. And Paine's most emotional appeal now seemed prophetic. He had written the blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries. Tis time to part. By the summer of 1776, many Americans agreed, and the separation he advocated became a reality. Yet perhaps Paine's most enduring contribution was not a particular argument or quotation. It was a shift in perspective. He encouraged ordinary people to view themselves as citizens rather than subjects and participants rather than spectators and founders rather than dependents. That transformation mattered enormously. Political independence required psychological independence first. Americans first had to believe they could govern themselves, and Paine helped them believe it. When the Declaration arrived, millions were ready to embrace it. And his closing vision remains one of the great lines of the revolutionary era. The birthday of a new world is at hand. For Paine, America represented more than a new nation. It represented a new possibility, a society founded not upon monarchy and heredity, privilege or even ancient custom, but upon liberty and self government. Whether America would ultimately fulfill that promise remained uncertain. The future would bring ups, downs, triumphs, failures, contradictions, struggles. But in 1776, the promise itself inspired millions, and few voices did it more articulately than Thomas Paine's. The Revolution would be fought by soldiers, the Declaration would be written by statesmen, the Constitution framed by delegates. But before any of those achievements could occur, Americans had to imagine imagine in their hearts a different future. Thomas Paine helped them do that. A recent immigrant, an anonymous pamphleteer, a man without wealth, title or office, yet armed with little more than paper, ink and conviction, he persuaded a people to think differently about themselves. And once that happened, independence was no longer merely an idea. It became a nation. Happy Birthday, America. That's Thomas Pain and common sense, Armstrong and Getty.
- [35:59]
Announcer
This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- [36:09]
Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history.
- [36:18]
It's more than just fireworks.
- [36:20]
Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76
- [36:27]
at america250.org LA It's America's 250th, but you deserve some presents too. Simon Malls, mills and premium outlets have can't miss sales July 3 to 5. Join Simon plus our new rewards program for free and get 2.5 times the points in addition to extra savings, cash back and offers that also work@shopsimon.com grab the fam, head to a Simon center and make it a day for the books. It's a sale, a bration thing. Sign up today@SimonPlus.com rewards program terms apply. See SimonPlus.com for details.
- [37:00]
The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues until now. The X Games League Championship is live From New Orleans. July 24th through 26th 33 days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro, Boomin, Jid Subtronics and Bunt Watch on ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2. Stream on the ESPN app Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.
- [37:30]
Ryan Reynolds
Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile now. I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So There goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com Switch
- [37:51]
Announcer
upfront payment $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes me slow when network is busy.
- [38:00]
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Joe Getty
price void in Florida the Armstrong and Getty Show. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day and we are going to be going big on this theme, I have a feeling, not only today, but for a very long time. This is from the great Thomas Sowell. If you are not, and this was my point in our title of the show, use your words now before you need your guns. If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarians barbarism. Well, and I would, I would just say if you're not prepared to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism. Whether it's through your your words or your deeds or the way you raise your children or, or whatever. There is a political movement. It owns practically our entire educational universe that is bent on subverting the principles upon which this country is based on. I speak those words without fear of contradiction. It's 100% correct.
- [39:36]
Armstrong
Do you believe the Thomas Jefferson quote, the famous one about the tree of liberty being watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots from. Because we haven't done that in a long time.
- [39:48]
Joe Getty
Yeah, I do.
- [39:49]
Armstrong
I don't want it to happen, but maybe it is a necessary part of the whole thing. I don't want to live through it, but.
- [39:56]
Joe Getty
Well, yeah, yeah. The question of when and how is the, the giant, thorny, bloody, horrifying question.
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Armstrong
Well, and who's the patriot and who's the tyrant?
- [40:03]
Joe Getty
That's always going to be a open question among the people involved. Oh yeah, absolutely true. But yeah, Jefferson's point was that systems don't last forever. They they tend to become corrupt. And he's right. Mailbag More on that to come. Drop us note mailbag@armstrongetti.com Chris sent this along. Bruce Springs put out on social media, blah blah blah. Expressed thanks that President Trump, members of the administration and the attendees were unharmed in the previous night's shooting and said while people can disagree and criticize those in power, political violence has no place in the United States.
- [40:40]
Armstrong
Good for you.
- [40:41]
Joe Getty
Thank you, Bruce. Let's see, we were wondering.
- [40:48]
Armstrong
I'm going to. I always do. You don't need to yell that.
- [40:52]
Joe Getty
Have him removed from the concept right now and beaten. Go ahead and beat him. Let's see. Gabriel says we were asking what the heck Ahmad Deuce was in the the shooters. Weirdly Frank. Boy, security sucks around here, you know. Statement he says, guys, Ahmad deuce is World War II slang for a 50 caliber machine machine gun. Keep up the good work. He was a knowledgeable jackass swept up in his own ideology. More on that.
- [41:22]
Armstrong
He made a good point though. What if an Iranian had brought in something much more powerful and maybe more skilled person? Yeah, that aspect of the plan, that
- [41:34]
Joe Getty
aspect of the stuff he wrote reminded me of one of those white hat hackers who tests computer systems and says, hey, Microsoft or whatever, you've got this floor law. Except he actually wanted to shoot people. Yeah. John from Kansas writes, guys, you had some question as to questions as to why everyone is so quick to latch onto conspiracies about literally everything lately. I have a theory. Everyone, I mean everyone, is very tired of being lied to about everything. Pick a topic in the news recently, Iran war, Israel, Trump's many assassination attempts, Charlie Kirk, Epstein, etc. We're not getting the whole actual truth about any of these things. I don't pretend to know the truth, but I. I know what bull s smells like. It's not hard for people to tell when they're being lied to, so sometimes they make up their own truth about the quote unquote about the lies we're being told and run with them. What about Charlie Kirk are we not hearing? I think the Charlie Kirk episode, John, is exactly as it was described. Exactly. A troubled young man who decided he wanted to live a life of meaning becomes militantized a few weeks ago on a particular time topic, decides he hates Charlie Kirk, tells everybody who will listen. He wants to hurt him, then hurts him. That's it.
- [42:43]
Armstrong
That's it. Boy.
- [42:44]
Joe Getty
Did you see Occam's Razor?
- [42:46]
Armstrong
Did you see Erica Kirk leaving the hotel crying. There she was under a table with shots being fired.
- [42:53]
Joe Getty
Holy crap.
- [42:55]
Armstrong
She must have some serious ptsd.
- [42:57]
Joe Getty
Yeah. Speaking of which, funny you should say that. Josh points out that the. The drug that Joe Rogan was talking about that could help veterans in need. PTSD et ibogaine. Right. Josh puts it in an unnecessarily combative way to us, but I'll just assume he was in some sort of mood, and I will forgive him for it.
- [43:19]
Armstrong
Wow.
- [43:20]
Joe Getty
It's.
- [43:20]
Armstrong
It's.
- [43:21]
Joe Getty
It's typewriter anger.
- [43:23]
Armstrong
I. I don't. I just don't get it. I don't get it.
- [43:26]
Joe Getty
Hey, dudes. The drug Joe Rogan was talking about was not ketamine. It was actually ibogaine. And it's shown real promise. No, you're right. You're butchering the story. Every bit of that is wrong. Okay, okay. Angry friend. Angry man. But thank you for the information anyway. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong
- [43:48]
Announcer
and Getty show this July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- [44:00]
Experience music, performances by major artists, patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving 4th, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history.
- [44:10]
It's more than just fireworks.
- [44:11]
Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party Tickets now for $17.76
- [44:18]
at america250.org LA It's America's 250th, but you deserve some presents too. Simon Malls mills and premium outlets have can't miss sales. July 30th join Simon plus our new rewards program for free and get 2.5 times the points. In addition to extra savings, cash back and offers that also work@shopsimon.com grab the fam, head to a Simon center and make it a day for the books. It's a sale, a bration thing. Sign up today@SimonPlus.com rewards program terms apply. See SimonPlus.com for details.
- [44:51]
The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in the leagues until now. The X Games league championship is live From New Orleans. July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro Boomin, JID Subtronics and Bunt Watch on ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2. Stream on the ESPN app, Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.
- [45:21]
This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names As a fellow dude, do you ever get that not so fresh feeling in your butt? That's because you're probably using the dry stuff to wipe wet. Extra large flushable dude Wipes get what toilet paper leaves behind in your behind. You wouldn't clean the tail end of your truck with dry paper towels so
- [45:47]
Joe Getty
why would you wipe with dry toilet paper?
- [45:50]
Announcer
Wetter just cleans better. There are no more dingleberries, no more itch and irritation, just a deep down the seam Confident clean so don't fumble
- [46:01]
Joe Getty
the ball with toilet paper.
- [46:02]
Announcer
Stop being an A hole to your B hole.
- [46:05]
Joe Getty
Drop the toilet paper.
- [46:07]
Announcer
Available on Amazon and major retailers nationwide. Dude wipes best clean pants down.
- [46:14]
There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still. Not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's coming come this far. Now we are here to help you keep going Further Capella University what can't you do? Visit Capella Edu to learn more.