Journal 13

 Franklin's Virtue project wasn't exactly easy, but it was insightful. There were several things I learned, and it was new and interesting to get to associate with people from other schools. I learned WAAAAAY more about Franklin than I ever had in my entire life, and I feel like the information I obtained will be helpful in the future. Having a challenge to accept made the Project much more interesting. I thought it was kind of cool how everyone had to pick one of the virtues and follow it for an entire day. I've never actually done that myself, and I learned a lot about how I act from that. I gained alot of practice with youtube because I was the editor, so by having to use it, I learned how to present a video and make it look cool. I also got to collaborate with several other students, including the Farmington ones, who were very willing to be a part in the whole project. For the future, instead of using E-Mail, I think that a Ning would be more efficient. A Ning is kind of like a facebook, but you can create your own site and friend people who are in your group, and then you can communicate with them over that. Having someone posts something on a Ning wall makes messages  alot easier to keep track of. I had to talk to my group via E-Mail, and because i get a lot of emails in general, it was hard to sort through the ones that had to do with this project. I think most certainly that having everyone set up a Ning would be much more efficient. Students will know how to use it because it's just like facebook, but it will only have group members on it, so the students won't get mixed up with facebook friends. I used one in the Netgen project in Speech Class last year, and it worked well. My partners  unfortunately  didn't really contact me AT ALL  in the Netgen project, but it worked for some other students and I think it would be nice to give it a try. Deadlines were another big deal. I think it would have helped if teachers enforced them harder, or went through a check list and made sure every student did their part. I had some problems with the video part because i was the editor. More time would be much better. Another class period would be great. The problem mainly was time. Students just didn't have enough time to get the videos done. Anyway, the project was alright. Communication, like always, was a big deal. One Plains kid and two from Farmington contacted me, but the other Plains kids did not. It was difficult to collaborate when people don't always contact you. We managed it though. It helped that there was a lot of individual work. That made it much better because everyone was responsible for them self. That was definitely a plus.

Was Franklin Successful in Becoming a Better Person by Implementing His Virtues?

                  Franklin was a man of many accomplishments.  He was man who went from rags to riches and drove through hardships to get there. He was an eloquent philosopher, full of ideas to better society and the rest of the world. He was an inventor, who did his best to leave his mark in this vast universe. Franklin, the kind hearted man that he was, felt obligated to continue these feats. In attempt to better his own self, he overcame his pride and completed one of his most influential accomplishments:  The Thirteen Virtues. These virtues spelled out how one should live one’s life, and Franklin followed them closely, even going as far as to develop an elite system to keep himself from straying away from his well-developed morals. Choosing to correct one’s own moral is a brave and difficult thing to do, and society still wonders today if Franklin was successful in becoming a better person by implementing these virtues.  The answer to this question can be seen throughout literature. From the success and cleverness of Franklin’s system mention in his autobiography, and  from  words of continued praise seen in Tuckerman’s essay“ Franklin’s Character”, it is easy to see that Franklin was not only a good moraled man, but also a consistent one, all because he chose to take a stand and follow a set of virtues that he created.                                                                                 

                Standing up and pointing out one’s own wrongs  is one of the most toilsome things a man can do, but Benjamin Franklin took on this inner odyssey with humbleness and determination. The key to Franklin’s success in becoming a better person was in the method he used to keep his virtues. In his autobiography, Franklin says that he decided to take the virtues one at a time, rather than take them all on to himself together (Franklin).  One can infer that the separation of the virtues is what made him successful. However, Franklin continues in making his method even more auspicious. He describes how he made a weekly chart of his wrongdoings, and to keep track he said, “I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day,” (Franklin 85).He recorded his every wrong,  and refused to move on to another virtue until he had fully mastered the one before. Since it is known that Franklin completed this process many times, it is safe to say that Franklin successfully mastered each virtue.  As Franklin continued this process, he began to see the results. In his Autobiography, he said, “I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish,” when referring to the black dots that were representations of his wrongs (Franklin 88). Franklin goes on to describe the rewards he reaped while following his system. After mastering Humbleness, Franklin said, “ I soon found the advantage of this change in my manner; the conversations I engag’d in went on more pleasantly, The modest way in which I propos’d my opinion s procur’d them a readier reception,” (Franklin 91).  He also mentioned noticing how his influence in councils increased ( Franklin). Franklin finally stated that he believed he had become a better person by strictly following his virtues: “I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it,” (Franklin 89).                                                                                                 

                 Tuckerman further supports the idea that Franklin made himself a better man. By his continued praise, it is very clear that Franklin went above and beyond. “ If we compare the life of Franklin, as a whole, with that of other renowned philosophers, we find that the isolated self-devotion, the egotism and vanity, which too often derogate from the interest and dignity of their characters of men, do not mar the unity of the tranquil, honest, and benign disposition which lends a gracious charm to the American Philosopher,” (Tuckerman). Franklin, in being compared to other philosophers, outshines them completely. Why?  Franklin did something that they did not: He took it upon his own hands to make himself better.  As I mentioned previously, One of Franklin’s virtues was humbleness, the opposite of vanity and egotism. The absence of these elements in Franklin’s life, according to Tuckerman, was one of his most defining features! Franklin worked very hard to force them from his life, and he clearly succeeded. That is one of the things Franklin is remembered for. Not only does Tuckerman say this, but he also clearly states that people admired him for his  moral uprightness, self-devotion, consistency , his patriotism, the habits he exemplified, truths he made vital, interests he promoted, prosperity he initiated, and the silent dignity with which he was content (Tuckerman). All of these reasons for admiration are directly related to the morals Franklin worked so hard to keep, further proving that he succeeded in making himself a better person.                                                                                            

                  Franklin’s choice to implement his set of virtues drastically affected his life. He saw the benefits, and mentioned more than once the rewards and progress he made. His method of following them and his determination to do so can be fully credited to his success . Franklin knew that he was becoming a better person, and he continued to keep it up. As said by Tuckerman, Franklin is remembered for his moral uprightness, and it has been made known that this was a direct result of Franklin’s hard work to better himself. From the results mentioned, it is fully justifiable to state that Franklin was indeed successful in becoming a better person. Now the question to be further analyzed is  no longer 'was Franklin successful?' but rather 'could one be successful if one tried?' 

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.

Tuckerman, Henry T. "Franklin's Character." Comp. Harold Bloom. Benjamin Franklin, Classic Critical    Review. New York: Chelsea House, 2006. N. pag. Print.

Journal #12

What is the American Dream of today? I don't think the American dream has ever changed. It's stayed pretty constant over the years. So what is it? I think the American Dream is having wealth. Wealth in finance, wealth of family time, wealth in your health. Success in what you do.    No stress. No worries. Having more than enough to be happy. Everyone in the entire world wants that. No one likes to have to worry about money, or worry about their health, or worry about their family. The American Dream is the absence of worry. You can achieve SOME of it. Some people can be rich, so they don't ever have to worry about money. Some can be healthy, but not rich. Some might be poor and unhealthy, but have a great family. It's impossible to achieve the American Dream entirely. I mean, we spend our whole lives attempting to reach it, maybe even just brush it with our fingers, but it's impossible to get there. We think people who are rich, who are movie stars, or billionaires are living the Dream, but in truth, they aren't. They might be rich, but what about the other things? Health and family and so on? We can't ever know who's actually living it. There is no way to know. So we just go throughout our lives, climbing the latter until we reach the Dream. Doing our best to enjoy our lives as best we can, and making do with what we have. No worries. Money to do whatever you want with it. Always healthy. No family troubles or ruts to get stuck in. Getting to do what you want. Enjoying your life.  Being stressful  No more worries. No more stress. That is the American Dream. Will anyone ever actually reach it? I guess we'l never know.

Benjamin Franklin's Virtues and how they reflect Rationalization

          I found Benjamin Franklin’s Virtues to be very helpful, well thought out, and inspiring. Franklin made an outward effort to better himself, and doing something like that takes a lot of courage. He admitted his wrongs, developed a set of virtues in a rational way, and he pledged to live by them, reflecting on them every day. His Virtues and his plan to follow them was rationalistic because he thought them through. He actually took the time to think about what Virtues would improve your life the most, and chose them accordingly. To do something like that is life changing, and I think everyone can learn a thing or two from Ben Franklin                                                                                                                  

          Ben Franklin, from the start, demonstrates a Rationalistic lifestyle. He begins by saying he respects and accepts all religions, and then describes how he chose not to go to church meetings because his preacher only targeted how to live like a Presbyterian, not a good moraled man (Franklin 82). This in itself is a Rationalistic way of life. He acknowledges and respects all religions and is very open, which was a rationalism way, and gets to choose weather not to go to church on his own, which is very rationalistic compared to the Puritan way of life. Because the preacher doesn’t teach morals, he decides to teach himself and take control.  He then chooses 13 Virtues to live by, each with their own logical definitions.                                                                                                                                                                    

         His first few Virtues are Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, and Frugality.  Because Franklin was a rationalist, he believed that there was other ways to do things, and in this case, other ways to  ‘boost your morals’ besides going to church. Rather than go through each one and explain why I think he chose them, I’m first going to say that I believe he chose all his virtues based on reason and experience. Each one could benefit your life if you followed them well. He thought them through and  noted which ones were most important and logical to follow. All were rationalistic, but of the few I mentioned previously, I found Order and Resolution to be the most. Order is rationalistic because it is logical to take control of your life and better yourself by regulating what you do. If you want to be successful in life you must learn to organize it. You have to keep things in their place, make time for everything you do. Franklin understood that. Resolution was rational because it revolves around decision making. You have to make decisions in life in a logical way. Think things through, and if you resolve to do something, DO IT. Do it ‘without fail’ (Franklin 84). That will make your life much easier and smoother.                                               

           The rest of his morals were Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility. Again, they were all rational morals, but the ones that stood out to me were Industry and Tranquility.  Industry was the most rationalistic of them all, mainly because it talks about how to spend your time.  It says that you should ‘lose no time’ and do things that are always useful and necessary (Franklin 84). If you’re going to live your life, you need to make sure you are living it to its fullest and in the best way. Rationally, you should only do things that are beneficial to you in the long run. I think Franklin chose this one because he noticed how people spend so much time doing things that don’t help them at all. They waste their time when they could be doing something useful with it. Rationalists were really into that lifestyle because they saw it as a way to live their life to its fullest potential.  My other choice was Tranquility. It related to Industry, except it was more on the ‘don’t waste your breath’ side. If you are going to speak, make it useful. Don’t waste your time getting involved in vain conversations. Talk intellectual to better yourself and your knowledge.                                                              

        I found Franklins method of following his virtues rational too. It was extremely well organized and logical. He didn’t over load himself and even said “I judg’d it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another” (Franklin 85). He chose ones he thought would be easiest to start with, and by mastering that would help him master the following virtue. He really thought it out, and by reflecting on them each night was able to look back and view his progress. He made it so that he could visibly see how his character was shaping in a positive way.                                                                                                

        Overall, his Virtues were well planned, and he chose them all for specific reasons. They were all rational because they were significant things that, if changed in a positive way, could better someone’s life. By developing them on his own, he demonstrated Order because he took control of his character. He made each day count, and asked himself how he’d improved someone else’s life and himself each day. He lived his life in a rational way, and his virtues and the way he followed them demonstrated the Rationalization period.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895. Print.