Franklin's self determination was very enviable for me. He seemed to be a very goal oriented man. I wonder though, if this could have made his life somewhat boring; never feeling o.k. with making mistakes.
The fact that he was a big supporter of the public library was impressive. He believed that education should not just be for the rich, but for everyone. I completely agree with him on this issue because not only is it empowering to be educated, but it is also important to live in a country that deems educated people to be important.
You make a great point that it is empowering to be educated and even more important to live in a country that values education. Franklin's self-determination involved a lot of self-educating, and it isn't hard to see how he became such a big supporter of the idea of a lending library. (One that benefited him, too, I'd like to add.) I also agree that it was interesting to read Franklin's ideas about God. It's too easy to look back on the Founding Fathers and label them as Christians because it's convenient for us. It's important, however, to look at what people like Franklin really believed because knowledge of their beliefs sheds light on their actions. For instance, knowing that Franklin was a Deist makes it easier to understand his drive for self-improvement and studying on Sundays, and for writing his own devotions. He was a self-made man from his occupation to his religion. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point about Franklin's life being perhaps boring because he tried to avoid mistakes. I have to agree. Though his intentions were admirable, I have no desire to someday, while laying on my death bed, say I wish I'd never made any mistakes. Mistakes offer life's most valuable lessons. That all being said, Franklin still led an incredibly interesting and exciting life. I wonder what it would have been like had he been more open to "mistakes." Or if he had been less disciplined...?
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