This is an I-Heart podcast.

On this episode of News World, the lives of these men are essential to understand the

American form of government and our ideals of liberty.

The founding fathers all played key roles in securing American independence

from Great Britain and in the creation of the government of the United States of America.

And now, the life of Benjamin Franklin.

Thank you. Of all of the founding fathers, other than George Washington, who literally was the moral strength in which America was created, and really was the father of our country.

But of all the other founding fathers except Washington, the one who most deserves to be considered an immortal was Benjamin Franklin.

You can make a case, and some people will, for Thomas Jefferson, who helped with Franklin

to write the Declaration of Independence, who became president, but for sheer scale of achievement,

for range of ideas, for the number of different kinds of contributions, Benjamin Franklin

literally is an immortal. He also is a great

sign of what was making America really different because he was someone who rose by his own

efforts, not because he was an aristocrat, not because he'd inherited a lot of money, not because

he had a unique position, but just

because he worked really hard and he was really smart. And the result was because he had this

endless interest in life, that every time he turned around, he was doing something fascinating.

And much of the time, he was doing things that were historic and that literally changed history

for all of us. When you wear bifocal glasses, you are, after all, dealing with an invention

of Benjamin Franklin. When you think about having a lightning rod to divert the lightning

so that your house doesn't burn up.

You're dealing with an invention of Benjamin Franklin.

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