, one of America's founding fathers. Actually, as great as it is, it's worth noting that this writing is merely him writing on 3 separate chapters of his life. I suspect there are other less noteworthy parts which we will never get to hear about, although the views of the man himself, and the inherent positivity and belief in the nature of man underlyingly ride his texts throughout. One bit that struck me, was his brief mention of coming to London and "enjoying the company of ladies of lower standing". Leaving my imagination about what he might be referring to behind, the main bit that stands out is his semi-ranting chapter on how none of us should feel bitterness or cuss the government in their taking of taxes from us to fund better lives for us all. Ben seems almost naive in this respect, although considering he was talking about decent roads, street sweeping and basic street lighting, one can easily see these are valuable functions which can be more usefully performed by a collective of some sort than individualism.So far we are in agreement, but the bit which will make any modern scolar laugh is where Ben mentions that we should not cuss, even if the taxes be as much as ten percent. Ten percent? Yes, Ben, I wholeheartedly agree, I would not cuss anyone for providing rubbish collection, clean streets, decent roads and street lighting, for ten percent or less of my income. What I object to is the other forty percent they redistribute to the lazy and useless to remain, er, lazy and useless. It just shows how far backward the world has moved in three hundred years. I bet Ben never saw this kind of forced redistribution , ie theft, coming.
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