Franklin's Virtues

Franklin had a lot of virtues that he tried to base his life off. The virtues were easy to understand and they are things that I think everyone should try to do in their lives. Based on this reading I assume that Franklin was pretty much a modern day hippie of his time period. He wanted the world to be peaceful and for him to be the best person that he could be. I think Franklin would want other people to follow these virtues to. He believes that the virtues would make the world a better place.

Deism is the belief that God created the world and that the proof is in the nature around us. (dictionary.com) Deists believe the world is beautiful and God is shown in all the things in nature because he was the one who created it. Deists see the world as a beautiful place. I think that is how Franklin viewed the world to. He wanted to try to see the world as beautiful as it really is and try not to disrespect it. He wanted everyone to respect each other and the world around them. I don't think that was necessarily Franklin's intentions when he was making these virtues. I just think Franklin was trying to be more peaceful and live a good life. I doubt that he was thinking about doing good to God because God did good for him.

But, Franklin knew it would be a challenge to follow all of his virtues. People would have to sacrifice a lot of time and effort to live by the virtues. Even Franklin himself realized that trying to do all the virtues at once was nearly impossible. But, even if you can't do all the virtues at once just trying and following a few of the virtues would make you a better person and I think that was Franklin's point. People are not perfect, of course we all know that. But, God did create all humans and that means we are important and good. Franklin wanted to get follow the virtues to become a better person. Diests would like to be better people since God put so much beauty on the earth then God deserves good people to live on it. I doubt that he was thinking about doing good to God because God did good for him. But, I guess who really knows? I can just understand why deists would appreciate these virtues Franklin thought up because it would take a lot of care to do them all. Yes, it would be a big challenge and Franklin even admitted it. But, those who tried are good people and God would clearly appreciate people putting an effort towards making the world a better and more peaceful place. Honestly, I know that I would not be able to follow all of these virtues for very long at all. They would be way to hard for me so I respect Franklin for trying to do them. In high school it is hard to avoid the drama, gossip, and disrespect. Therefore, it would be very challenging for me to stick to the virtues. But, I bet I could come up with my own virtues and be able to follow them better. They would not be as extreme as Franklin's but they would still help to make me a better person.

Franklin, Benjamin, and Leonard Woods Labaree. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale UP, 1964. Print