Liberty vs. Safety

*I Will Fight for my RightsThey that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty, nor safety. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Lexi Burgess

Colonial ContextI believe this quote is talking about the split in America between Loyalists and Rebels. Ben Franklin believed that the liberty that the Americans were fighting for was for the good of all.From this quote, it sounds like he thinks loyalists are cowards that think England can keep them safer and dont want change to come. After America won, the loyalists were forced to leave, which I believe Ben Franklin is talking about when he says they deserve neither liberty nor safety.This quote could also potentially be talking about the slaves at this time because they were siding with England to gain their freedom, but then lots of them were being taken by Loyalists fleeing to Canada or another country anyway.

Source of QuotationBecause it was Benjamin Franklin writing the quote, it makes me believe that the people giving up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety are the Loyalists.If it had been an Englishman or a Loyalist writing it, I might think that it was Americans that were being referred to.

How it relates todayAll these people in countries like Iran are still fighting for their rights.In all these places, there are people who are right out there fighting and then there are people who are scared of what the government and other people can do to them.If we listen to Ben Franklin, these people who trade liberty for a real or imagined sense of safety.Resourceshttp://talonsnichk.edublogs.org/2010/03/01/little-brother-theme-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-33*http://talonsliam.edublogs.org/2010/04/12/right-are-given-not-inherited/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution