A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?

Everyone has some type of virtues that they consider to be required in order to measure whether a person has good quality character. Benjamin Franklin had a set of virtues that he considered everyone must have in order to be of good character. My reflection blog this week will review the results of the virtue assessment provided in the course and my perception of how the align with with Franklin virtues.

Temperance

I thought this was an interesting virtue about drinking alcohol. Considering the feedback that I should consider being the designated driver was a good idea, however, I answered the question based on the scenario and knowing myself, I wouldn’t probably be in that type of situation.  Considering that virtues are elements that create a higher moral ground, I don’t consider drinking is something that makes you have a bad or good character. I would say that drinking alcohol in an abundance could cause behavior that would not be morally excepted by others.  In the early 19^th century there was a temperance movement when it vowed to “encourage moderation of consumption of intoxicating liquors or pressed to have complete abstinence.” Fast forward a couple centuries later and we are still talking about alcohol and its associated behavior. Today, temperance should focus more on texting and driving and those who are under the influence of prescription narcotic or other illegal drugs. I would love to be in Benjamin Franklin’s mind to see what he thought about today dilemma of alcohol verses texting and driving, both can be equally dangerous.  At least with the virtue result I could be a bit more considerate and be the designated driver, but I would not volunteer to take medicine or text and drive.  (United States History, 2017)

Order and Cleanliness

This virtue I found extremely hysterical because I tend to believe that I am extremely organized and I can handle many tasks at one time. I like Ben’s virtue that there is “a place for everything and everything in its place” If you were to ask my children if I live by this virtue they would agree that I do. I had a standard rule when my kids were growing up and it only took one lesson for them to quickly learn that mom was serious about taking care of your stuff and putting things away.

The standard rule was every Saturday I would get up drink my coffee and circle the house picking up stuff putting thanks out of place in one big pile. When the girls woke up they had only thirty minutes to put their stuff away or it went into the trash. It only took one time of throwing a camera in the trash for them to know mom was serious. I didn’t worry about things during the week because I worked, went to school, monthly military obligations while each kid was involved in different extra-curricular activities and I didn’t feel order was required during the week because there was nothing standard about our life schedules.  I would imagine that Franklin would be annoyed with our type of schedules today. I also think it would be comical for him to tell me to clean out my car, but since he is an inventor I would show him how my car can parallel park itself for a good conversation.

Frugality

I agree with Franklin that “a penny saved is a penny earned” is a good approach and saving money. Although credit cards were not around when ben was so I would assume that people in his era still borrowed money but had more option of trading good to ensure there was food or necessities for the home were available. The scenario where you only have a hundred dollars left until your next paycheck is something I am currently working with our own adult children about saving money to be prepared for things that could happen such as automobile troubles or home repairs. However, everyone today has some type of credit card that we use for convenience and answering that I would use a credit card in a pinch is a culture in which we live. I remember when my kids were little one of them said to just put the plastic card in the machine and it would give you money. The United States (U.S.) is considered to be the “land of economic opportunity and consumption where we spend everything we have” Saving money is something I am good at doing now that I am older but I would be a hypocrite to judge my kids for not saving well. I would love to see Ben’s reaction to the world of credit card usage and lack of saving.  (Williams, 2016)

Conclusion

Ben Franklin has a set of virtues that he felt were important to establish moral character. My favorite is the humility one where he states that one should imitate Jesus and Socrates. Due to how religion or types of religions have morphed in our country, I would assume Ben is rolling in his grave because not everyone agrees that we should imitate Jesus due the various beliefs.  Overall, I think it is good to have some type of standard for yourself but we need to be careful when judge others because they may not have the same virtues in which they live by. The virtue assessment was interesting to me because even the questions tended to be softer in nature as I tend to be more serious about topics and have to be very organized due to my busy lifestyle.

(PBS, 2017)

References:

PBS. (2017). Bens 13 Virtues. Retrieved April 29, 2017, from

http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html

United States History. (2017). The Temperance Movement. Retrieved April 29, 2017, from

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1054.html

Williams, S. (2016, September 26). Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in

Savings, New Study Shows. Retrieved April 30, 2017, from Motley Fool: h            ttps://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/09/25/nearly-7-in-10-americans-have-less-than-1000-in-sa.aspx