Thomas Paine's "American Crisis" Response

The very first sentence of this passage discribes the entire text perfectly. "these are the times that try men's souls"(p.51). This quotation means that the way a man or woman goes through difficult times or  crisis, determines the outcome of their life after it is over. My mother always told me "you can't appreciate the good without experiancing the bad." I think this connects perfectly because this is exactly what Thomas Paine is trying to say. "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection"(p.53). Thomas Paine is not only looking out for the Americans of his time, but for the far future of America, which makes him a true patriot. Paine made a wonderful analogy between the British controlling America and a theif breaking to his home. "...if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to 'bind me in all cases whatsoever,' to his absolute will, am I to suffer?"(p.53) This is a very powerful analogy and I feel as if Paine used it to connect the situation with the British, to the lives of average Americans.