Anne Frank motivated everyone who read her words when she wrote, “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” And what good news that truly is! I don’t think each of us understands just how much we are capable of. We all have this beautiful, infinite amount of potential and no matter what we do, it will never go away. True, we may go down a path that keeps us from seeing or living up to this potential, but it still remains and always will. There are those, however, who want us to fail. They try with all their might to make us forget who we are or who we can be. They want us to believe that our capabilities are so much more smaller than they actually are. Jean-Jacque Rousseau commented that “we can dwarf them, but not change them; we can hinder men from showing what they are, but we cannot make them otherwise.” No matter what people tell you, you are capable of accomplishing amazing things. Anne Frank, at such a young age, knew this, and never let herself forget it. We should always do the same, because we cannot accomplish anything without believing we are able to do so. As the world tells you you are inferior to so many, stand confident in knowing that you have a world of potential that you can live up to.

Yours truly,

Publius

We all have heard of the famous pamphlet, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and I could go on and on about it’s amazing contents, but what I wanted to focus on right now is its title. If Paine was writing this pamphlet to share information people were lacking, why would he have titled it the way he did? Not because everyone knew the information already, but because everyone should. He knew that once it was laid out for them they would more easily see that that knowledge was necessary and true. What Paine was teaching truly was common sense, but people had just forgotten it for a bit.

Today, our society seems to have steered away from those principles taught in 1776, but each of us has an innate knowledge that these principles are true, and can therefore be classified as common sense. When we take time to study and gain knowledge, those things that may have seemed foreign or “old fashioned” suddenly take on a new meaning, and you can feel their power and truthfulness as if it you knew them all along. Follow that common sense that is telling you that these things are true. We all have a desire to be free, we just need to know how to get there.

Yours truly,

Publius

It seems like all we see on the news today is fighting. Whether it’s political parties, countries, or personal fights, they are constantly surrounding us. Both physical and verbal weapons are being used to harm each other rather than lift each other up. However, Thomas Paine explained that “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers do not.” In this world where people’s first reaction to opposition is to harm those who cause it, the most light comes from those who instead teach and listen. So much knowledge can be spread as we share the principles we know to be true instead of attacking those who question us.

People misunderstand each other but instead of explaining, we try to injure on another. But Aristotle taught that “one exclusive sign thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” We cannot prove to ourselves that we know about something until we can teach it, and what better opportunity to teach then when someone disagrees? And even better, what better opportunity to show someone you care about them? The simple act of listening rather than lashing out may be all someone needs. It creates a feeling of peace and kindness rather than contention and anger.

We must, as George Washington advised, “observe good faith and justice toward all [people]. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.” While it is true, the world isn’t perfect and not everyone is going to agree, but we must strive to be just instead of rash. Often, the pen is mightier than the sword and the kind words we use can make much more of an impact than we first anticipated.

Yours truly,

Publius