John Adams & Benjamin Franklin - Two Harmonies in a Beautiful Divine Symphony

Benjamin Franklin once said, “I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others.  I even forbade myself the use of every word or expression in the language that imported a fixed opinion, such as certainly, undoubtedly, etc.  And I adopted instead of them, I conceive, I apprehend, I imagine, or it appears to me.”

“When another asserted something that I thought an error, I denied myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly, and of showing immediately some absurdity in his proposition; and in answering I began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion would be right, but that in the present case there appeared or seemed to me some difference, etc. “

Why did he do this? To allow other people to have his way, to make political friends, to avoid ruining relationships.

Was it successful? Swimmingly!

An example of his conservative tone and language is when in 1773 he debated with England’s Secretary of State, Lord Hillsborough, who angrily refused to receive Franklin’s appointment as agent for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. 

BF       I cannot conceive, my Lord, why the consent of the Governor of an agent for the people is needed.  It seems to me that-

LH       I shall not enter into a dispute with YOU, sir, upon this subject.

BF       I beg your Lordship’s pardon; I do not presume to dispute with your Lordship.  I would only say that it seems to me that every body of men who cannot appear in person, where business relating to them may be transacted, should have a right to appear by an agent.  The permission of the Governor does not seem to me necessary. 

Then after a tirade of angry defense assertions by Lord Hillsborough Benjamin Franklin, poised and conservative as ever, still manages to get his point across. 

BF       I beg your Lordship’s pardon for taking up so much of your time.  It is, I believe, of no great importance whether the appointment is acknowledged or not, for I have not the least conception that an agent can at present be of any use to any of the colonists.  I shall therefore give your Lordship no further trouble. 

While American governors found him indispensable in foreign negotiations, he said of himself, “I do not find that I have gained any point in either country, except that of rendering myself suspected by my impartiality-in England, of being too much an American, and in America, of being too much an Englishman”

This was due largely to the moderate positions he took in mediating between the colonists and the English government. 

Benjamin Franklin believed in boycotts and petitions as a peaceful means to an end. 

·      Franklin believed that a united boycott of English goods might eventually bring a change in the laws without violence. 

·      He advised the colonial leaders to continue their petitions to the Crown, believing that “they will all have their weight in time.” Meanwhile, he counseled patience. 

Benjamin Franklin: Admired, peaceable, cautious.

Then there was John Adams

Described as a brilliant lawyer, a fine political theorist, wonderfully neurotic, pompous, always transparent, always anxious that people recognize his talents, neither handsome nor dashing. Adams was oddly self-destructive in public life, a man who was too honest for his own good, then of course, there was the Alien & Sedition Act.  When considered to draft the Declaration of Independence, he said, “I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular, I cannot do it”

Benjamin Franklin and John Adams disliked each others political savy so much that Ben Franklin once asked America to get John out of France altogether before he ruined all Ben had been working on over the years.  The request was granted, much to Johns dismay and humiliation.  He was removed to Holland.  After spending several years trying to secure a loan for his country from the Dutch government, they finally conceded and said he was a very persistent fellow and America did well to choose him as their ambassador.  He responded with something like, “thank you, I am persistent, but its because I’m usually right.” 

John Adams: Brusk, bold, direct

Even though these men had extremely different personalities, they were both specifically hand selected and brought up by God to be in America at that specific time.  He had need of both personality types, and He used them each according to their talents. Just as God has hand selected each of you to be here in America in 2021.  He knows your talents, He needs you here, you have a purpose.  You may at times be annoyed with that crazy person who declares we have Communism in America. You may roll your eyes at the crazy memes and declarations on social media, you may be annoyed at your complacent neighbors who don’t write their legislators when you are trying to ban pornography in Utah public schools. But hold tight! We are all fighting our own battles.  One may choose as his battle field, human trafficking, abortion, public school standards, neuro linguistic programming, helping the mentally impaired receive excellent and caring service, you may run a nonprofit, you may help small businesses with community outreach, you may hold political office in hopes of helping our great Republic, you may be learning the Constitution.  We are all just different personality types, each involved in a different skirmish on the battle front, like different melodies that make up a beautiful symphony. Just because someone isn’t doing what you’re doing in the way you think is best, does not mean they don’t have a meaningful and specific purpose in God’s plan.   Allow them to perfect their melodies while you perfect yours, and lets watch the symphony unfold before our very eyes.    

David Archuleta sings it perfectly when he sings,

“Its so amazing what we are all creating

It’s like a symphony

Just keep listening

Everyone plays a piece

and there are melodies,

each one of us, oh its glorious.”