Tom Blair - What Would Ben Say?: Poorer Richards America

Copyright 2010, 2014 by Tom Blair

Foreword copyright 2010, 2014 by Tom Brokaw

Illustrations copyright 2010, 2014 by Ken Cosgrove

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover illustration by Brooks Campbell

Print ISBN: 978-1-62636-136-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-067-4

Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

To the fourth generation Chesapeake waterman, with a face of leather and hands of calluses and scars, who rises an hour before the sun to the absolute promise of a grueling day and only a slim hope of a fair catch; to the young teacher who, while lovingly clutching her soldier husbands pillow, drifts to sleep knowing that in mornings light a ponytailed voice will once again ask where is Daddy; to a graying, stoop-shouldered shop owner that hides within the cruel knowledge that if the bank fails to renew his capital loan the familys home will be lost; to the mother of two who stands rigid at the curb in frigid cold in anticipation of an hour-long bus ride to an office building where, for minimum wage, she will scrub clean public toilets for eight hard hours... and to all of those other wonderful Americans.

FOREWORD

B Y T OM B ROKAW

W ho among us has not wondered what the Founding Fathers of this unique democratic republic and free-market economy would think of what their dream has become?

George Washington, the stern father of the country, who had the air of majesty but rejected the temptations of royalty. Mr. Jefferson, the poet of liberty and champion of governing from the bottom up and not the top down. Hamilton, the boy wonder financial genius who, through the force of his intellect and oratory, gave the fledgling nation a central nervous system for its economy. John Adams, the passionate advocate with the great legal mind and even greater patriots heart.

And, of course, Benjamin Franklin, journalist, printer, politician, sage, scientist, diplomat, raconteur, iconoclast, ladies man and, most of all, the quintessential American then and even now. His combination of wit and wisdom is best distilled, of course, in his Poor Richards Almanack , which he began publishing in 1732 as a means of making money and promoting virtue.

It was an instant success, outselling even the Bible, and it lives on today as a model of topical and enduring humor, practical information such as the tidal charts, weather, eclipses, and lunar phases.

However, the genius of Franklin was his ability to see complex issues with great clarity and convey to mass audiences a simple road map to understanding. His many observations grew out of his own youthful effort to design a set of virtues by which he would lead his own life.

Among them:

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.

Industry: Lose no time; always be employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

There were thirteen virtues in all and they in turn led to a lifelong trail of Benjamin Franklin aphorisms that are so familiar and remain so relevant that they can help us navigate personal goals and national interests more than two centuries later. In this ambitious book by Tom Blair, What Would Ben Say? , were invited to ponder what Benjamin Franklin might think of our common virtues and national direction now, in the beginning of the twenty-first century, when many of the hubristic assumptions of twentieth-century America are under siege.

Mr. Blair skillfully weaves his own thoughts on financial excesses, national will, journalism, entertainment, generational legacies, and the popular culture with the real and imagined reflections of Benjamin Franklin.

It is a provocative undertaking and, in the spirit of Franklins mischievous manner, it is designed to at once make us think about the many ways in which we lost our way and how a daily inventory of time-tested virtues can help show us the way once again to a firm foundation built on higher ground.

Tom Blair rightly asks, Where is our Benjamin Franklin and why arent we listening to the original?

TOM BROKAW

INTRODUCTION

KIND READER,

F or two centuries, plus two and one half decades, I have been observing you with utmost fascination and, at times, unfettered amazement... a stroll on the moon, who would have dreamt. While I am foremost proud of you, and think proudly of myself as one of you, of late I have become heavy with worry. For many Americans the fire in the belly no longer seems to burn. More and more of you cling tight to the Great Federal Breast while beseeching your government to kiss your hurts and chase the pain away. But alas, the pain is increasing as your government casts future generations adrift in a sea of debt... I thought lightning was frightful. Meanwhile insecure elected officials spew forth vile declarations crafted to demonize their opposition in hopes of positioning themselves for reelection... thus ensuring for themselves a players role and costume on the Nations Stage of Tragedy.

Here comes the orator, with his flood of words, and his drop of reason.

Poor Richards; October 1735

Not wishing to pummel, but rather to propel you, let me most proudfully acknowledge what a truly admirable nation of citizens populate America. You are generous. Generous with your money and your time. Always ready to help another countrys citizens. When attacked, you strive to win; then, once victorious, you rebuild your defeated opponent. The contentment of another nation is not your discontentment. For most Americans a healthy and loving family is still the greatest treasure. And, as always, Americans are prepared to toil diligently for a fair days pay.

Now for the grim news. My dear America... pardon, our dear America... may well have touched its majestic zenith, thus being poised to begin its slide from grace. With a quick shrug, many of you dismiss my pleading; why not, when in booming voices politicians boast, America is the greatest nation the world has ever seen. Certainly to the ear their trumpeting is quite reassuring; as reassuring as were British statesmen of my generation smugly claiming that Britannia rules the waves. Alas, two hundred years later Britannia, with its cracked spars, tattered sails, and rotting hull, sits idle, moored to the dock of past greatness.