Quote and Counter-Quote

"There Was Never a Good War or a Bad Peace" - Benjamin Franklin

My response ... "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin.

Wait, that's the wrong quote, here are the right ones ... "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" & "Even peace may be purchased at too high a price."

Quotes can be dangerous, because whoever it is you are quoting probably said something else. And it's possible, as in this case, that the person may have even acted in a way that was contrary to the words you are quoting. Benjamin Franklin tried to find a peaceful resolution to the problems between the colonies and England, but when that didn't work he supported the war effort.

And even if he had said nothing contrary, and acted in every way consistently with this statement, the bumper sticker reprinting it would still be flawed. First of all, Any statement that pertains to human beings and uses words like always or never is ... usually ... false. There is ... usually ... an exception for every rule. And context (what, when, where, etc.) is almost always important in determining human outcomes.

Second, the idea that there can't be a bad peace is so obviously silly that there isn't much to say about it, as long as peace means the absence of conflict. If you include things like fairness, equality, etc. in peace, than the statement might be right but you have an overly broad definition of peace. If you don't include these things, then imagine yourself standing next to Neville Chamberlin as he says "My good friends, this is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now I recommend you go home, and sleep quietly in your beds." Or imagine yourself in a marriage shorn of love, affection, and empathy. Now, what was that about there not being a bad peace?

Third, while war always has costs, sometimes it is necessary and the result hard to describe as bad. Intervention in Bosnia might be an example. The liberation of concentration camps comes to mind. And, back to Benjamin Franklin, was the American Revolution a bad war?

So, if you want to put a Benjamin Franklin quote on a bumper sticker, this may not be the best choice. If you don't drink beer, here is another suggestion:

"Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man." - Benjamin Franklin