Lately I’ve been rereading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. It may be one of the most American books ever written. It is both a revealing portrait of early American life and the story of a most remarkable self-made man who helped shape our country. 

Back in elementary school, we learned about a jolly-looking old fellow flying a kite with a key and discovering something about electricity. What they should have taught us was how Franklin developed and tried to live his “13 virtues.” That lesson would serve us tremendously now, facing today’s technological, political and social challenges. 

Franklin wasn’t born wealthy or famous. The 15th of 17 children, he received only two years of formal schooling. Through relentless self-improvement, he created his famous list of 13 virtues: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity and Humility. He spent years trying to live by them, while joking that if he ever perfected humility, he’d probably become proud of it and ruin the whole thing. And he became, as we know, “healthy, wealthy and wise.” 

Which may explain why I found myself wondering what Franklin would have made of the recent UFC event held on the White House lawn, with the cage, the blood and all the marketing. 

Like most modern spectacles, it arrived uninvited, marched through my news feed, landed in my living room and demanded attention. These days, we don’t need to search out the sensational and bizarre. It finds us. 

A UFC cage on the White........

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal