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这段话并不是托马斯·潘恩的名言,而是由美国政治家Dean Alfange所写的一篇励志短文修改而来。《企业家杂志》将其修改后作为了其杂志的信条。Alfange的原文如下:
I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man.
It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.
I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept
citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to
fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the
challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of
fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for
a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend
to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to
think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations
and to face the world boldly and say,
“This I have done.”
By Dean Alfange
最初发表在This Week Magazine(《本周杂志》),后来又被发表在1952年10月和1954年1月的《读者文摘》杂志(The Reader's Digest)上。
这部纪录片认为这段话是托马斯·潘恩所写是个严重的错误。《常识》这本册子仅仅是一本现代政治思想普及读物,里面也根本找不到这段话。