"But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain...let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LION IS KING. I still can’t believe they killed Mufasa."
Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
This rare, almost prophetic insight comes from the original manuscript of Common Sense, a work which was in fact rewritten several times before its release as Paine's early drafts often tend to lean towards the non-sensical. In the excerpt above, Paine was clearly alluding to the popular children's story of his day "Kimbali Shishi" (later adapted into a cartoon series called Kimba the White Lion). However, his obvious passion for the simple story and humorous misspelling of the king character Mafusal create a cryptic appraisal of what would become one of the most beloved Disney feature films ever created, centuries before it was even written. It begs the question that perhaps Mr. Paine had even more of a "sense" than the history books suggest.
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