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FYI what Paine talks about is finishing a job that has already begun. Staying the course in the face of difficulty. Meeting the challenges of a task one has undertaken and seeing it through in spite of adversity. After all it's very easy to be a "sunshine patriot" or "summer soldier", hopping on the bandwagon when everything is going well and distancing oneself from it when things don't. It's much more difficult however to stick with a tough job and not quit when things go badly.
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However, when Paine made this statement, he was writing of a nation fighting for its own liberty, not of a nation led by an imbecile trying to shove the institution of democracy down anothers throat against the will of armed resisters. If the Iraqis are so inclined to seek inspiration from Paine's words, than let them fight for their own future. But the same words have little meaning for the United States at this time.