Tag: Ben Franklin

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Benjamin Franklin

I’ll start with a disclaimer. I don’t watch much news on TV and don’t listen to any on the radio. I read the WSJ, sometimes scan the news feed on Google and I read a few of the writers from National Review.
When I heard that reasonable protests about the killing of George Floyd had turned violent I wasn’t that surprised or alarmed. The pandemic has given too many people too much time. A few days later when I heard that the Apple Store that I go to had been looted I was a bit concerned. When the restaurant where I had a dinner reservation had closed because of the curfew I was inconvenienced. But I thought then and I still think now that there was reasonable cause to spark anger, and, to complete the metaphor, there is not enough tinder to turn discontent and sporadic rioting into a fire of insurrection.
As expected President Trump hasn’t helped. But neither have the media or the legions of people with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome). After the Kent State killing about fifty years ago I was, as a returning Vietnam War Veteran, a leader of the protests in Schenectady NY. We disrupted traffic and felt like we were making a difference, then we went home and led our lives and I expect that the same thing will happen after this one dies down. As fires do when there isn’t enough kindling to get them to the next level.
At a deeper level I think that a big part of the problem is unreasonable expectations of respect and a good life promoted by politicians from the left and the right. The unpopular reality is that if you want prosperity you have to earn it. If you want respect you have to earn it. This system we have is a marvel at creating wealth I hope it doesn’t get destroyed by those who seek absolute fairness.

And now I paraphrase Franklin, with trepidation, “Those who would give up prosperity to purchase security deserve neither prosperity nor security.”

WWIT: What Was I Thinking

The photo is of a postcard I received from the “Keep Calm” series.