The more I see, the more I find reason for those who love this country to weep over its blindness.
Alexander Hamilton, 1782 (238 years ago)
I decided it was time to brush up on American history this summer.
My boys know more than me–they read constantly, obsessing over Harriet Tubman and her narcolepsy, Lafayette and his marriage at the age of fifteen, Lewis and Clark and their faithful dog, Seaman. When they make references to certain obscure historical figures, I do a quick google confirmation on my phone, then feel proud in a silly mom sort of way.
Hamilton, the great Broadway show, will be out on Disney+ within a couple weeks. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack for over a year now, and I’m eager to match voices to faces. I’ll admit, there is more foul language than I like–I’ve skipped through some of the songs which kids don’t need to hear. I wish it were more accessible to my history buff kiddos, but Lin-Manuel Miranda was clearly more concerned about the rap vibe than tender ears. Having one modern Broadway show under my belt, I can vouch that current writers, composers, and artists aren’t interested in family friendly throwbacks, a la Oklahoma.
In fact, the more shocking, the better.
Anyway, Miranda somehow squeezed decades of complicated politics into a super catchy, ridiculously well-researched musical, and there is nothing I love more than facts put to song, nerd that I am.
Our “founding fathers”–so we call them, were not a bunch of chummy bar friends. There was more arguing than agreeing, and in hindsight, the ragged threads that held our tattered country together were incredibly strained. Pre-Constitution, the nascent nation– a massive joke to the rest of the world–was already in debt to the tune of 40 million dollars.
Shay’s Rebellion hinted at anarchy, one of several little fires which the baby government fretted over putting out. George Washington, having invested more than the average patriot, was disturbed and not inclined to patiently wait for the majority to come to their senses. Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, blithely commented from Paris,
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing…The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
I know we are all for knocking Thomas Jefferson these days, but here is the truth: If you don’t blanch at the suggestion that our democratic land hinges on peace and goodwill, I will remind you of the old saying how history is inclined to repeat itself. Our past is more substantial than glittery dreams and butterfly wishes and rainbows. Our soil is bloodstained. Every person who lives here lives in the shadow of the murderer and the martyr. Every one of us is a product of “manifest destiny” and the greed that wiped out indigenous people, from purple mountains’ majesty to the fruited plains.
We are far removed from slavery, we think. We are wiser than our past, we say–we won’t make the same mistakes again. There is a call to censor our past mistakes, to rewrite classic books and “reimagine” old, tasteless films. We are righteously indignant–can you believe the blatant prejudice in Little House on the Prairie? Can you believe the old Disney movies were so derogatory?
Not our generation, we say. Never again. Our kids will know better–they will be better. By our wit and wisdom, we will rewrite history.
Friends, I disagree. We have nothing to offer, except to pay attention–close attention–to history, and to pray to God that He will guide our future.
Isn’t it interesting how so many independent minded folks gathered together in Philadelphia to collaborate on a new constitution? Surely it was hot under those powdered wigs, sans air conditioning and cold bottles of water. I bet they wandered out of the hall in the evenings, muttering under their breath, each cursing the other for being so dang hard to get along with. I bet they missed their families and wondered why in the world they were working so diligently on something that might turn out to be a futile attempt at compromise.
Let’s not paint a prettier picture than we ought. Our determination is what we share. Our obnoxious, cantankerous resolution to let people live as they want to live and hold leaders accountable for tyrannical behavior–this is our common ground, not our political leanings, principles, and certainly not our adherence to any moral standards. Jesus may very well have said “a nation divided cannot stand” but he was referring to evil spirits, declaring his omnipotence, which many of my fellow Americans deny. (We who are Christians might choose to follow our personal convictions as an inalienable right, just as the atheist might choose to deny there is a God. This is the matter of freedom, though I often try to persuade others that my freedom is freer.)
But first, the framework had to be agreed upon. Interestingly, Ben Franklin, no Christian himself, suggested each morning assembly begin with a clergyman praying. Was not God summoned as a witness? Hamilton was against it. He asserted, annoyed, that the convention would do just fine without “the necessity of calling in foreign aid.”
George Mason questioned a proposal for officials to be elected by the general population, saying it would be as unnatural as asking a blind man to pick out colors.
With such persnickety behavior, it is a wonder any vote was passed, any government established.
Yet here we are.
I am looking forward to Hamilton, just as I greedily eat up every chance to experience art and history. I love our nation, and therefore I am fascinated by its past. I do think God must have had a hand in the pot when those disagreeable founding fathers agreed on one thing, declaring each person has inalienable rights. No one can take our choice from us. That’s how God is–he loves us, fundamentally, by letting us choose, and this is why, to this day, we declare ourselves a nation under God.
It is a miracle that this one fragile thread wove a country together over two hundred years ago. Regardless of our massive mistakes (for one, Southerners’ willful ignorance to the inalienable rights they refused their slave), we still hold this in common. We compromise by agreeing each of us has a unique voice. We complement one another by listening.
I write this because I think we are losing history by entertaining false notions that a divided nation is merely democracy. “Let the people want what they want”–as if being at odds with the very template of our government will change people’s hearts and blot out oppression. Justice and order are some pretty good standards–it is people who are corrupt, which is the point of the story of Jesus declaring that a nation divided against itself cannot stand. If you want Jesus to come into your life and rearrange it, He will do it, and you will only ever benefit from it.
Thanks to those crotchety men in 1787, we actually have a pretty solid foundation, as far as governments go. I think the prayers invoked by old Ben Franklin went straight to the ears of Heaven on the wings of tiny mustard seeds of faith.
History stands. We have options moving forward, if we keep an eye on the rearview mirror. Censorship is not one of them–though you can be sure I’ll be fast forwarding through parts of Hamilton when it comes out (like the part where he has an affair).
Sorry, Lin-Manuel.
