Benjamin Franklin Believed Moderation: Most Important Virtue of Life

"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.

The essay Citizen Ben: A worldly American’s Seven Great Virtues by Walter Isaacson is an essay begins talking about Benjamin Franklin. When we think of Benjamin Franklin our minds automatically turn to the story about him flying a kite in a lightening storm with a rod on to prove that lightening was electricity. This is one thing that Franklin did but he did many more as well, in fact it says that he was an inventor diplomat, writer and business strategist. He helped bring the country that we live in today about. There are many views on him that show him in a good light and some that show him in a bad light. There are some that saw that he was shallow and didn’t show great

To continue, the second most important virtue from Franklin’s experiment is Moderation. “Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.” In other words, try not to have things in abundance. The virtue Moderation is important because it can cause great jealousy in other human beings. For example, when someone finds themselves with an abundance of money or other material possessions, they might become green with envy. Those people, in order to have equal or more other worldly possessions, may result to crime to get the things the other person already obtains. Moderation throughout life may also prevent people from getting overwhelmed. If everyone had a determined amount of what they would bring into their homes, they would be less likely to become stressed with dealing with all those things. Along with becoming overwhelmed with all of the excess objects, many health problems may come along the way. Such as heart problems, lack of sleep, and an overall unsettled state of mind. Moderation can also be applied to things like drinking, eating, and working/slacking off. People who are known to eat in bulk have tendencies to have weight problems with also lead to health risks. Those who drink excessively can be turned from upstanding men and women of society, into foolish looking people that

Most persons who later attempt suicide have given some indication of being at risk, of having ideation or intent related to suicide. The suicide rate among physicians and nurses is higher than in the general population; their special knowledge of pharmacology and physiology can make attempts more likely to be lethal. Most people who complete suicide have made at least one previous attempt, and a history of prior attempts is one of the strongest predictors of future risk. Some attempts may appear unlikely to have succeeded from the outset, because the means was one of low lethality (e.g., choking oneself with socks wrapped around the neck) or because circumstances would have led to

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has published a fact sheet of statistics on suicide in the United States. In 2007, it is reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death. Furthermore, for every suicide committed, eleven were attempted. A total of 34,598 deaths occurred from suicide with an overall rate of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. (NIMH, 2010). Risk factors were also noted on this report and listed “depression and other mental disorders, or a substance abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than ninety percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors (NIMH, 2010).”

Suicidal ideation is a medical term for thoughts about or an unusual preoccupation with suicide. The range of suicidal ideation varies greatly from fleeting to detailed planning, role playing, and unsuccessful attempts, which may be deliberately constructed to fail or be discovered, or may be fully intended to result in death. Although most people who undergo suicidal ideation do not go on to make suicide attempts, a significant proportion do.[1] Suicidal ideation is generally associated with depression; however, it seems to have associations with many other psychiatric disorders, life events, and family events, all of which may increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Recurrent suicidal behavior and suicidal ideation is a hallmark of

In 2014, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015), there were twice as many suicides than there were homicides. Suicidal ideation (SI), defined as an individual thinking about, considering, or planning their suicide, is established before the act of committing suicide. Research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (CDC, 2015) will put an individual at risk for developing a mental illness that could result in SI and suicide attempt (SA). It is important for the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) to recognize the signs of SI and SA while assessing their client.

There is at least 113 suicides each day or 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide among males is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourteenth leading cause in females. Most suicides are with a firearm and are carried out with a “ Saturday night special”. (Dilaura,Cynthia DiLaura) “More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. “ (Brady Campaign) There are a number of reasons why suicide occurs. Stress is the number one cause among our youth, bullies, peer pressure, depression, and abuse. 41,100 people committed suicide in the United States in 2013. Our young teens today does not take time to look deeper into there problem and to seek out a better solution. They are looking for a quick fix but not realizing once the trigger is pulled the result is final with no turning back. Most people who has attempted suicide is more likely to try a second attempt and most have an underlying mental illness. There is many warming that someone may be in a suicide crisis. We most learn how to see things through their eyes. No matter what one is facing in life or the difficult that lie ahead of them Nothing is worth taken your own

Suicide is one of the most leading causes of death in the United States. With this in mind, people that are suicidal, see no point in their existence which later on leads to endangering their life. One of the ways individuals has taken account

How Benjamin Franklin Is Still Teaching Us Today Benjamin Franklin once said, “Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.” This quote holds serious implications for modern day society. As the saying goes, the children of today are the future of tomorrow. Therefore, I think this quote shows very well how today’s youth should be educated. If every person in the world acted in the manner described by Franklin, the world would be free of many of the problems it faces today.

Our Suicide Awareness course will be very informative and useful in our everyday lives . Suicide is a major public health concern. It is the 10th leading cause of death overall. Suicide does not discriminate. People of all genders, ages, and ethnicities can be at risk. Suicidal behavior is complex and there is no single cause. In fact, many different factors contribute to someone making a suicide attempt. Suicide is complicated and tragic but it is often preventable. Knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get help can help save lives.

Due to the events that happened throughout history, the world that we see today has changed from what the world was like several years ago; yet, it is still constantly evolving. As one of the great figures in America’s history, Benjamin Franklin’s approach in the thinking process continues to influence many American citizens. Giving the chance to read Benjamin Franklin’s 200 year old book has allowed me to engage myself in a world that was different from our modern world and learned how a leader can succeed during a certain time period. It was interesting in comparing how culture was like from Benjamin’s perspective and twenty first century culture traditions. His focus on the freedom of free thinking and decision making explain the importance

Aarsland, Påhlhagen, Ballard, Ehrt and Svenningsson (2012) stated that people if the thought of suicide is not managed at the right time, the patient might end up killing himself or herself.

We are born with faculties like we are with passions. “We are not made up of good or bad nature; we are not praised nor blamed”(page 225, Mayfield). This quote is explaining with passions and faculties are how we feel and desire which is neither right nor wrong, good or bad. Since passions and faculties are not defined, state of character is virtue. State of character is our actions and our habits. “The virtue of man also will be the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well” (page 225, Mayfield). In order to have true virtue you need to act to “accordance with a golden mean of moderation” (page 78, Palmer). This means that you need to find an intermediate so you will be praised and succeed. You can’t take too much or too little. Too much for someone could be too little for someone else, therefore each person needs to find their own individual mean.

How should one act in their everyday lives to best maximize human efficiency? This question spawned Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues as he sought so live the rest of his days with poise and proper manners. He wrote his 13 virtues for human improvement so that any person could follow them and achieve maximum human efficiency. One of his virtues, frugality, is shown throughout many different stories and is described by Benjamin Franklin as “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.” This idea of frugality is necessary to hold yourself properly when in the company of others and allows a person to act in a manner of moderation and kindness. Many people throughout many different literary works have portrayed this quality including the farmer in de Crevecoeur's “Letters from an American Farmer”, Mother Shipton in “The Outskirts of Poker Flat”, and “Lucinda Matlock”