Wisdom of Our Forefathers
Benjamin Franklin once said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." And then years later a teacher told it to me and my fellow classmates in elementary school, and I said, "WTF?"
Well actually it was more like "Oh how clever. He's so smart. A penny saved is a penny earned. Because if you save a penny then you earn....um.....wait a second! Huh? How does saving a penny make you earn a penny?
Over the years I have searched for the answer. What was Benjamin Franklin saying, or trying to say? What is the meaning of this statement? Is there some meaning beyond my capability of thought, or is it just bad English? I've asked many people, and no one so far has been able to answer it. There have been many people that think they can answer it, but their answers are usually just rephrasing the statement. It's kind of like if I ask you what the meaning of preposterous is, and you tell me that it means to be preposterous.
Breaking It Down
Let's take a look at what is said. "A penny saved is a penny earned."
So you got a penny, you saved it, and now you've earned a penny. How does saving a penny make you earn a penny? To earn something you have to do somethign for it. Some kind of effort must have been put in on your behalf to say that you earned it. So just obtaining the penny through your works means that you've earned it. You don't have to save it to earn it. You only get the penny when you have earned it. Or is there 2 pennies involved? If you save a penny, then you will gain another one. Well 1+0=1. So no saving a penny won't gain you another one.
There's lots of things you could add to the statement to give it some "cents". Like if you put your money in a bank account you will gain more from interest. Or a penny isn't much, but if you save all the pennies you get, then you will have enough to buy something. But that is not what is said. And even those statements have nothing to do with earning anything.
Another thing. If you don't save a penny, then you haven't earned it? So if someone works really hard, and when they get their paycheck they spend their penny, then they didn't earn it? But if someone steals a penny and they save it, then they've earned it?
These are the things going through my mind. Maybe you can clarify things for me. Someone out there must have an idea about the meaning of these words.
The Joe Schmoe Theory
I have a theory though. My theory is that people put important figures up on a pedestal. Especially historical figures. And they think that every single word that comes out of their mouth is of some importance. In this case, I think it's not. Yes. I said it. I think it is possible that this statement has no meaning at all. SHOCKING!
Think about it. It's not like it's the only odd thing ole Benny ever said. This is the guy that also said "Beer is living proof that God wants us to be happy." And let's not forget the time that he flew a kite in a lightening storm. Not exactly genius behavior. He also once wrote an essay to the Royal Academy entitled "Fart Proudly" in which he asks for research to be done to find something that will make farts smell more like perfume instead of like something dead. (Mine already smell like roses.) [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fart_Proudly]
What I get out of all this is that Benjamin Franklin was a drinker. Probably a heavy drinker. While he was sober yes, he was an intelligent person, but once he got drunk he went a little crazy.
Now I'm not trying to put Mr. Franklin down. All that I am saying is he was just a regular guy. He liked to party, and he liked to joke around. He could be serious and get the job done, but there was also a lighter side. It's a good quality to have.
So in conclusion my theory is that he got drunk one day, and tried to make some profound statement on saving your money, but he tripped up on his words, and said "A penny saved is a penny earned." (Well hopefully it was like that, and not a Forest Gump moment. "Stupid is as stupid does.")
What do you have to say? Leave a comment please.
No comments:
Post a Comment