One of the most important, but often overlooked, details of Benjamin Franklin’s legacy, is that he was a doer, but a self-made man. Read his Autobiography if you haven’t already—or read it again for new insights.
He seemed to establish a link between effort and reward in the American cultural experience. His “rags to riches” is recorded in his own words for all American generations to read. It is a wonderful story. Ben started with little but gained much through his persistence and hard work. He demonstrated that effort is in time rewarded in the American Experiene.
There is much talk in government about government and about education these days. It’s not new. Horace Mann (1785-1859), who was an educator, lawyer, and Congressman had this to say about it:
With our upcoming Presidential Election coming this year, I thought you might be interested in a few fascinating facts about our past presidents.
Perhaps both of our democrat candidates for President of the United States should listen to this story:
That’s Dearth, not Death!
A few posts back, I quoted a statement by Thomas Carlyle. Perhaps you’ll remember that he was a Scottish philosopher, writer, essayist, historian, and teacher. Here’s another quote from Carlyle that I think you’ll like:
While George Washington was laboring away trying to convince the soldiers under his command to be vigilant and courageous, he was joined in camp by a patriotic writer named Thomas Paine. Paine had written a booklet, “Common Sense”, that gave men more insight into the blessings of freedom and liberty.