An Open Letter from Benjamin Franklin
I could not let the year of the 300th anniversary of my birth pass without thanking the former colonies for their many kindnesses. The postal service that I founded so long ago issued a collection of stamps bearing my rotund image. The White House honored me with a grand dinner. I was the toast of the town in Philadelphia.
However, as my birthday celebrations wind down, I ponder why it is that the country honors me, yet heeds not my words. Does no one remember my warning that if
"the putting the World in order would breed Confusion; then e'en mind your own Business"?(175
This advice was ignored and America sent her brave into futile battle half a world away, attempting to force quick democracy upon a foreign land. It must be remembered,
"Sudden Power is apt to be insolent, Sudden Liberty saucy; that behaves best which has grown gradually" (1753).
Other warnings were also for naught. I said,
"The second Vice is Lying; the first is Running in Debt" (174
and I now see my beloved country doing both, having misled the citizenry about the need for war, and then cutting taxes while spending borrowed billions in Iraq. I advised that
"no temporal Concern is of more Importance to us than Health and that depends so much on the Air we every Moment breathe" (1757) and yet I see the government allowing industry to help write rules that weaken plans to reduce unhealthy air.
I note with amusement and sadness that mistakes made in my own time are repeated today. Does not my observation,
"Who has deceiv'd thee so oft as thy self?" (173
apply to the current vice president? His predictions concerning Iraq, that "We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators" and that it "will go relatively quickly ... weeks rather than months", despite warnings from intelligence and military experts saying otherwise, are worthy examples.
"He has chang'd his one ey'd horse for a blind one" (1733) tells of gross incompetence in my own day. In your time, I observed the president hiring his unqualified former campaign manager to lead your emergency management agency, only to see him replace that fellow with an unqualified Arabian horse dealer (with disastrous yet predictable results). I cautioned,
"Don't overload Gratitude; if you do, she'll kick" (1741). Even so, the president declared, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job".
I dropped a few allusions to your own time into my "Poor Richard’s Almanac". Did not my words
"She that paints her Face thinks of her Tail" (1736) aptly describe the self-promoting Kathleen Harris, whose actions and heavy make-up gained fame in Florida’s 2000 election? Her failed runs for higher office, despite many imploring her not to do so, give evidence to her ambitions. I asked,
"Who says Jack is not generous? he is always fond of giving" (1740) and we came to see your politicians eagerly accepting cash from the generous hands of Jack Abramoff' (until his legal troubles became public). My description,
"Squirrel like she covers her back with her tail" (173
, well applies to the 9/11 Commission testimony of Condoleezza Rice, as she tried to defend against accusations that the Bush administration "ignored terrorism" (Richard Clarke) prior to the 9/11 attacks. Now, as the planet warms, there is still time to pay heed to my words that
"our Winters will appear as Summers" (174
, though I am not encouraged when I see the president, beholden to the oil companies, pulling the country away from efforts to deal with the changing climate.
In closing, my wish is that you who have inherited the gift of America will make use of that gift wisely. I am proud to see that I have earned a reputation for common sense and for doing good in the former colonies. My prayer is that the time will come when our nation will once again be noted for the same. After all,
"a good Conscience is a continual Christmass" (1741).
"Reader farewel, all Happiness attend thee; May each New-Year, better and richer find thee" (1749)
12-31-2006, 10:45 AM
Ben Franklin's Year End Thoughts on Iraq and Bush
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