OT: Ben Franklin Alert for Tom McA

[bbrown]

As I watched Monday, it was evident they were hammering home the point that Franklin was in their view, a racist. They spent a good amount of time highlighting that view.

And then Pt. 2 happened. LOL.

 

[91Joe95]

As I watched Monday, it was evident they were hammering home the point that Franklin was in their view, a racist. They spent a good amount of time highlighting that view.

No need to guess, Burns led and emphasized it with his tweet.

 

[Nohow]

As I watched Monday, it was evident they were hammering home the point that Franklin was in their view, a racist. They spent a good amount of time highlighting that view.

So? In those days just about every American citizen was a racist by today’s standards. To his credit he changed late in life.

 

[BobPSU92]

And then Pt. 2 happened. LOL.

Franklin hates first halves.

 

[BW Lion]

Franklin was a troll.

 

[Georgia Peach]

Burns put in the work and at the end of it all he is entitled to his opinion. Whether it's true or designed to drive viewers or a little of both is something we can all decide for ourselves. Bickering about it is a waste of time.

Presenting history will always involve subjectivity. It can be no other way.

 

[manatree]

Presenting history will always involve subjectivity. It can be no other way.

Exactly, especially in documentaries where you can get away with a lot of editing to emphasize your point while downplaying or outright ignoring counterpoints. Michael Moore say hello. You can get away with a lot more with a documentary than you can a book, provided the book publisher has integrity. I have seen so many times where the historians will make great leaps to conclusions on the screen. I can only hope that there wasn’t enough time to include the supporting evidence on film.

That being said, I have it on DVR, and will watch it later this week even though I’m not a fan of the Burns cinematic style.

 

[Grant Green]

Mark me down for a thumbs up. I thought Burns did a nice job of presenting Franklin, warts and all. I enjoyed the way that he constantly worked on improving himself as a human being.

The doc reinforced my opinion that Franklin was a truly brilliant (probably genius level IQ) and fascinating man and we may still be England without him.

Oh yeah, and now I want to work an Armonica solo into my next music recording.

 

[psuro]

Franklin hates first halves.

He made a half time adjustment and was able to find a way to defeat the British. He finally used an attacking defense as opposed to a bend but don’t break defense.

This should help recruiting.

 

[psuro]

Mark me down for a thumbs up. I thought Burns did a nice job of presenting Franklin, warts and all. I enjoyed the way that he constantly worked on improving himself as a human being.

The doc reinforced my opinion that Franklin was a truly brilliant (probably genius level IQ) and fascinating man and we may still be England without him.

Oh yeah, and now I want to work an Armonica solo into my next music recording.

Yeah really. Then we would all be stuck speaking English.

 

[[email protected]]

How Alexander Wedderburn Cost England America | American Philosophical Society

Benjamin Franklin thought of himself as British. Yes, he was born in America, and certainly some of his identity was that of an American, but his America was part of the British Empire. Franklin was a British subject. By 1774, with dissatisfaction with British rule in America growing, Franklin...

www.amphilsoc.org

 

[BobPSU92]

How Alexander Wedderburn Cost England America | American Philosophical Society

Benjamin Franklin thought of himself as British. Yes, he was born in America, and certainly some of his identity was that of an American, but his America was part of the British Empire. Franklin was a British subject. By 1774, with dissatisfaction with British rule in America growing, Franklin...

www.amphilsoc.org

Is Floyd a distant relative?

 

[psuro]

Is Floyd a distant relative?

No. He is a cousin who lives around the corner. Not distant at all.

 

[TheBigUglies]

Yeah really. Then we would all be stuck speaking English.

I enjoyed what I was able to watch even though the historians were giving their thoughts and conclusions they created about the guy. This stuff went down over 200 years ago so not going to get upset with how today's generation interprets the past. I am thankful for Franklin and our founding fathers. I can't even imaging their mindsets to start a revolution and their own country.

The one thing I am just realizing(or thought about) is that I will not be around for the Tri-Centenial. Being a wee lad of 9 in 1976 I have great memories from all the Bicentenial celebrations where I grew up. There was a Wagon train that crossed the nation and camped in Valley Forge park that summer and the celebration was awesome and parades and stuff around the Philly area made some great memories. I thought I heard something about a 250 year celebration in 2026?

 

[91Joe95]

How Alexander Wedderburn Cost England America | American Philosophical Society

Benjamin Franklin thought of himself as British. Yes, he was born in America, and certainly some of his identity was that of an American, but his America was part of the British Empire. Franklin was a British subject. By 1774, with dissatisfaction with British rule in America growing, Franklin...

www.amphilsoc.org

They were all loyal British subjects, until they staged an insurrection. There was no country in America before them in either North or South America.

 

[manatree]

I finished watching both episodes this morning, and there's no real surprises for anyone that has read anything about Franklin. I don't understand the knicker twisting over historians offering their opinions, interpretations, perspectives, etc. A historian's job is to study history, not just read about it. You can't truly study a subject without critiquing it. You think that Herodotus didn't include his point of view and interpretations in his writings? This show seemed to provide enough different viewpoints to give a well rounded view of the man. A flawed man, by his own admission who like most any human evolved over time. If anything, the volume of Franklin's own writings provide ample evidence of both the good and bad.

Again, the reason I prefer books over documentaries are for the citations and footnotes. The bad thing is that they always lead to an unsurmountable 'to read' list.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Again, the reason I prefer books over documentaries are for the citations and footnotes. The bad thing is that they always lead to an unsurmountable 'to read' list.

lol, that's why my book list keeps growing. In most history books I read, I also read every word of the Notes and Index sections. And if any of them offer a POV that I've not read before, then that book (if it's a book; I don't hunt down dissertations, or papers in journals that are not online) is added to my book list. Even if the POV is not new to me, if a book is cited multiple times, and sounds interesting, then it also goes onto my book list.