The Paradox of the Enlightenment Science

Writers Cramp Contest Entry. (revised)

The Paradox of the Enlightenment Science

He was but still a lad, His composure and appearance; rounded, steady, strong, not easily frightened or overwhelmed. Well built in composure, even among royalty and world renowned men. Big headed for a child, it’s claimed, with steady gray eyes.
He was a watcher, absorbing and taking in all that was spoken and happening around him like liquid to a sponge. He was rarely distracted, always mentally present and alert. When spoken to by adults he listened intently and stayed focused.
He had the look of someone unflappable, even in this unfamiliar land and country thousands of miles from his home. He had not seen his dad in quite some time. He had been sent to France by his grandfather after being taken away from his dad to be educated. His dad was a staunch fanatical supporter of the king of England, his grandfather; a traitor to the crown of England and radical supporter of the new states and colonies of the new world and their quest for freedom from the crown and a self governed nation of its own. He was a world renowned scientist, diplomat, inventor, and philosopher, an American pragmatist, and statesman. Benjamin his grandfather had taken the child to see one of his most respected teachers and revered giants of philosophy,
a free thinker and one of the most controversial writers of the old world. The visit took place while on his dying bed at the age of eighty four.
Voltaire’s philosophy and writings were monumental. A giant, patriarch of philosophy that years shaped Benjamin’s beliefs and convictions. Voltaire summed up his view of the “Enlightenment Science” eloquently in a letter to a friend.
“I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man”
It was Paris 1778 when the two men met, embraced kissing the others cheek.
Benjamin brought his grandson with him to pay his last respects with the hope Voltaire would bless little Benny. Voltaire gladly agreed laying his hands upon little Benny’s head and simply said
“God and Liberty”

Little Benny stood still, tall, silent and respectful among the small group of the world famous, renowned philosophers.
The Blessing was a parody of a secular bishop’s blessing. The blessing moved Benjamin Franklin to tears it’s said.
In the years that followed as Benny grew he to embraced Voltaire’s philosophies.
Five months prior to Voltaire’s parody blessing a delegation of fifty-five men created what was to become The United States Constitution to modify the existing inadequate Articles of Confederation. Thirty-nine delegates including Benjamin Franklin Benny’s grandfather signed and submitted the new constitution to the 13 states for ratification.

Little Benny followed in his grandfathers footsteps as a printer and publisher and held firm to the philosophies and ideas of his grandfather, Voltaire, and other founders of the new nation.
As a publisher Benny made many enemy’s and was viewed as a traitor by some for his radical views. But unlike Voltaire and his grandfather, who used satire, sarcasm and humor to appeal to people’s common sense, logic and reasoning power, little Benny went to the extreme and held nothing back.
He viciously attacked George Washington, and other founders through his newspaper called “Aurora” (named after the Roman goddess of Dawn). His hope and goals of enlightening his fellow citizens and country men with his vicious attacks did not work as he hoped. He had taken many beatings and had his printing press and equipment smashed a number of times by fellow countrymen.
He remained steadfast and continued with His vicious attacks and writing approach. He attacked not only new governing policies and institutions like the banking system that he disagreed with; he attacked their character, intelligence, and legacies going as far as calling George Washington a sleeping lion who turned monarch, blaming him for all the misfortunes the young nation had endured, he accused Washington and others of Treason, which prompted congress to enact “The Sedition Act of 1798” and was arrested for “libeling” President John Adams under this new law. Benny died at the young age of twenty-nine years old from the yellow fever pandemic that had broken out before he could be tried and hanged for treason. Little Benny, Benjamin Franklin Bach, was indeed without a doubt a brave young man and patriot like his grandfather.
But still a vicious radicalized supporter of the Enlightenment Science, philosophies, of inalienable rights of all men that shaped the founded the bedrock on which this nation was built. He viciously attacked both church and state in the name of “God and Liberty”
Like Voltaire and his grandfather Benny’s hatred of tyranny and oppression whether from the throne or the pulpit of the religious leaders of the time, or others grew stronger and more radicalized as he grew but in his quest for freedom and liberty he alienated his fellow countrymen.
One can only wonder what was going through the mind of this child and what emotions were stirred growing up caught, in the middle of a war and revolution that he had no understanding of that had Torne his family apart. Did his hate this Enlightenment philosophy that Separated him from his father?
What happened to Little Benny during that Voltaire parody blessing, no one can say for sure. One can only speculate on the emotional trauma and impact.
Was it enlightenment and a drive to embrace and defend this foreign way of thinking, and believing, or did it give birth to a growing hatred of his grandfather and the new nation that caused his separation from his beloved dad who was a devote servant of the Crown and king or perhaps his blame was placed on his dad, king and crown of England. To show any hatred for the new nation and constitution could label him a traitor and a possible death sentence by hanging for treason.