“The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.” — John Adams
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http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/7100/
Less and less of our sons and daughters are getting into advanced math and science studies as it is.
And I think J. Adams should have added diplomacy to politics and war -as if our leaders were a little better at that, we might not be in the pickle we are in now.
Benjamin Franklin and John Adams worked for common causes throughout their lives. Together they secured international support for the revolution, then helped construct our nation’s framework. But they could not have been more different from one another. Where Franklin was vivacious, Adams was reserved. Where Adams was formal, Franklin was improvisational.
Once they were travelling together in New York, and took lodging in a crowded inn. Rooms that night were so scarce that they were made to share a bed. Franklin insisted the window remained open to allow in the fresh air, while Adams complained that the cold draft would make him sick.
And while Franklin was older than Adams and never had time to become president, he shared Adams’ sense of responsibility to understand government, diplomacy, and war. During his life Franklin served as Postmaster, Ambassador, and counsel to the Continental Congress.
Franklin, however, also understood that knowledge of the arts - of music, architecture, statury, and poetry - is in fact essential tools for successful diplomacy. In France and elsewhere he won the affection of kings and peasants alike with his charisma and apprecation for music, chess, and fine food.
The tradition of culturally savvy American diplomats was most recently prominent in the Kennedy White House, and there are of course token cultural gestures by countless political types.
But what Franklin understood is that his knowledge could not be either/or. He could not be only a diplomat and not a patron of the arts. It was his embracing and engagement with arts and culture that allowed him to be such a successful diplomat, and just one of the many ways he was different from his esteemed compatriot, John Adams.
Thanks for that education, David.