Thomas Paine – the man who came up with the name, “United States of America” and who is arguably the founding father of America and of the age of American enlightenment – has largely been forgotten by the people who benefited from his courage, charisma, logic and rhetoric. Instead, we in America treat Paine as some type of neglected step-child that is hidden away. I was never introduced to Paine until college, we don’t honor his efforts with great memorials or on our money and he is usually only (wrongly) quoted by the right wing.