December 10, 2020
Volume 50 - No. 49
By Friedrich Gomez
He was an unrivalled raconteur, and highly-accomplished humorist who could make us laugh and reflect on life at the same time: “Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.”
And he gave us universal truths that were impossible to ignore because of the ingenious and unforgettable style of grammatical expression (known as antithetical phraseology) to which he added his own: “There was never a good war or a bad The Paper - 760.747.7119
website:www.thecommunitypaper.com
email: thepaper@cox.net
peace.”
As an author and publisher of his own newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette, Benjamin Franklin became a wordsmith who knew how to fashion words and phrases to make his messages irresistible and unforgettable, such as his timeless, classic aphorism: “When you’re good to others, you’re best to yourself.” His true life story is unlike any other.
With less than three years of formal education, this small fragile child would emerge as an almost mythical figure with the stride of a giant, accomplishing Herculean feats and towering achievements that make biographers, even today, still weak behind the knees.
To many of the world’s most august historians, such as the worldacclaimed author and professor, Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin was: “The most accomplished American of his age and the most influential American of his era and
Benjamin Franklin See Page 2
the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become.”
And due to his unique and groundbreaking achievements, it would become necessary to create a newer label, a more accurate barometer of who this human being truly was. In short, Benjamin Franklin would emerge as America’s first, true superhero. HE WAS A TRUE SUPERHERO