One Last Benjamin Franklin

In his biography, Benjamin Franklin, An American Life, Walter Isaacson wrote a short summation of Dr. Franklin's belief in compromise that I thought was worth passing on.

"[Benjamin Franklin] believed in having the humility to be open to different opinions. For him that was not merely a practical virtue, but a moral one as well. It was based on the tenet, so fundamental to most moral systems, that every individual deserves respect. During the Constitutional Convention, for example, he was willing to compromise some of his beliefs to play a critical role in the conciliation that produced a near-perfect document. It could not have been accomplished if the hall had contained only crusaders who stood on unwavering principle. Compromisers may not make great heroes, but they do make great democracies."