Happy Birthday, Ben!

Today is Benjamin Franklin's birthday. As my father would say, if he hadn't died, he'd have been 300. Ben is by far my favorite Founder. Even though he lived during the Enlightenment and after the Renaissance, he was a true Renaissance man. His interests were wide ranging--he was a scientist and inventor, a businessman, a diplomat and politician, a philosopher. He wrote a vast amount about a variety of subjects, and what may be his most popular line these days is evergreen: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

In Al Gore's speech yesterday, he talked a bit about the Founders, and it's certainly on point here.

The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.

Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the full Bill of Rights.

Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of nuclear missiles ready to be launched on a moment’s notice to completely annihilate the country? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when the last generation had to fight and win two World Wars simultaneously?

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they did. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it’s up to us to do the very same thing!

Happy birthday, Ben. May we live up to your example!