This is a two volume edition of Common Sense by Thomas Paine that came out in 1776 and was read, read to, and discussed by almost everybody in the colonies. Within weeks of its release it created a complete change in what had been a foundational belief of almost everybody. Until it came out, monarchy, the idea that countries should be ruled by kings and queens, was so hard wired into society that it was rarely questioned. After it came out, it was debated by all, and most, in what became the US, came to believe that it was not a smart way to organize a society.
It’s fun to read it now and where it says “monarchy” imagine it says “capitalism”, and where it says “monarch”, or “king” substitute “oligarch”.
Many thanks to Ben Franklin for bringing Thomas Paine over to Philadelphia and letting him loose on the printing presses of the western hemisphere.
The links below are for the PDFs of this Ourzine. If you click a link, you will notice the pages of the PDF seem all out of order; it is not designed to be read on a screen. But if you print it two sided on a duplex printer it will come out so that if you cut it in half and put one half on the other, you can read it. This pocket sized booklet, zine, or chapbook, we call an Ourzine.
Anybody who wants can visit https://rorshok.com/ourzines/ or search for Rorshok Ourzines to find us and to find more Ourzines. There, you can set up an account and make one with whatever you want in it. They’re free and there are others in the Rorshok Ourzine library you can download and print. There is even an Ourzine about Ourzines.
Creating, giving, and receiving text on paper is a time honored way to share knowledge. It’s calm and allows for reflection. No tabs, no scrolling, no links, no cookies, no notifications. There’s a beginning, middle, and end. The Ourzine you make can have whatever you want in it, poems, your or someone’s life story, sector specific news, technical information, advice, conference information and agenda, photos of a trip, a history of something, or a thesis.
What you make is completely private by default but you can mail them to people and of course just leave them around for others to find.
Or you can just download and print these. We hope you like them!
Here is a two minute video that illustrates what they are and how they work.