This is an example of a simile.
Similes often use words “like” or “as” to compare
Regarding current political issues, Paine and Thoreau's position would be divergent and could be contradictory to each other depending on the interpretation.
According to "The Crisis", Paine would support a policy that allows the United States to expand and interfere with policies in other countries that may harm or benefit Americans. Paine, shows in his work, how the USA should be a sovereign nation, even if it implies conflicts and crises.
Thoreau, on the other hand, would not support this policy that interferes in the decisions of other countries, since in his work "Civil Disobedience", he refuses the expansion of the USA when it causes suffering and loss of other nations, through an expense high economic value, which could be better used to solve national problems.
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