October 8, 2024

Who's Poor Richard?

Benjamin Franklin, writing under the pseudonym Richard Saunders (AKA "Poor Richard"), published Poor Richard's Almanack from 1732 to 1758. The almanack provided useful information, proverbial wisdom, and humor to the American colonies. 

In keeping with Franklin's legacy, Poor Richard's Blog tackles today’s complex issues and the foundations of the Franklin Party, while hopefully also dispensing some wisdom and good humor along the way.  

The

Announcements

Commentary

And More

Poor Richard's Blog

Benjamin Franklin, writing under the pseudonym Richard Saunders (AKA "Poor Richard"), published Poor Richard's Almanack from 1732 to 1758. The almanack provided useful information, proverbial wisdom, and humor to the American colonies. 

In keeping with Franklin's legacy, Poor Richard's Blog tackles today’s complex issues and the foundations of the Franklin Party, while hopefully also dispensing some wisdom and good humor along the way.  

Welcome to the Franklin Party Newsletter!

A House Divided

This week, two conferences that duopolize the United States each fielded teams to ruthlessly battle one another. Both teams have animal mascots, and America was divided, sometimes within families, over who would prevail.

No, I am not referring to the Democrats and the Republicans, although any confusion is entirely understandable. On Sunday, the NFC Rams beat the AFC Bengals, 23 to 20, in Super Bowl LVI.

Like other nations worldwide, Americans have long satisfied their primal tribal instincts with team sports. Proxy wars on playing fields are far healthier outlets than actual wars on battlefields.

Over the last 30 years, however, primal tribal instincts have, unfortunately, also invaded American politics. Team Red on the Right and Team Blue on the Left.

The problem is, while this rivalry might seem game-like, it isn’t. When the representational game world of tribal warfare crosses back into the actual world of politics or the military, the consequences also revert from token to real.

Politics should never be a sport. The stakes in terms of people’s lives are simply too high. And we as a nation cannot afford to be a house divided against itself.

In a future blog/newsletter we’ll discuss how a movie or a play is a much better metaphor for healthy politics in the U.S. than tribal warfare or sports.

Yours in republic keeping,
James Carroll
BFPNC Chair

Subscribe to Poor Richard’s Blog

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name
Email

You may also enjoy:

Handcuffing the Lifeguard

This congressional appropriations season, please tell your U.S. Representative to oppose Rep. Biggs’ Appropriations Amendment #4 (homeopathy FDA exemption) to H.R. 4368.

Read More »

Declarations

Let’s declare our independence from the modern adversaries that would rip us apart, and redeclare our interdependence to each other.

Read More »

Respective Experts

Some legislators refuse to pass certain (or any) gun legislation, saying it is unconstitutional. But, this decision ignores the totality of our history and the design of our government. Read why legislators should pass good-faith gun laws, even if they are unsure of its constitutionality.

Read More »