Men and Women Such As These

The following is a message we received from Amazon a couple of days ago:

Academy Award nominees Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney star in John Adams, a seven-part epic miniseries event that explores the uncertainty and intensity surrounding the birth of the American republic through the eyes of one of its greatest founding fathers. This new miniseries chronicles the life of a man whose fiercely independent spirit, reverence for the rule of law and commitment to personal liberty greatly influenced the values on which the United States was founded. It also explores the relationship between Adams and his wife, Abigail, to whom he was married for 54 years.

Last night my husband and I watched the first two episodes of this miniseries. As I witnessed and felt the struggles of our incredible Founding Fathers to make wise decisions that would have such profound repercussions I was reminded of what David McCullough said in a speech at BYU on 27 September 2005: "...nobody ever lived in the past. Jefferson, Adams, George Washington--they didn't walk around saying, 'Isn't this fascinating living in the past? Aren't we picturesque in our funny clothes?' They were living in the present, just as we do. The great difference is that it was their present, not ours. And just as we don't know how things are going to turn out, they didn't either."

McCullough ended his speech by saying, "And I hope when you read about the American Revolution and the reality of those people that you will never think of them again as just figures in a costume pageant or as gods. They were not perfect; they were imperfect--that's what's so miraculous. They rose to the occasion as very few generations ever have."

Not only did watching these first episodes increase my appreciation for our Founding Fathers and in particular John Adams but my admiration for Abigail Adams and other Founding Mothers increased as well. McCullough understood this when he stated, "Abigail in one of her many letters to her husband, John, who was off in Philadelphia working to put the Declaration of Independence through Congress wrote, 'Posterity who are to reap the blessings, will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors.' "

The following book has been written about these insightful women:

Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts profiles the women whose bravery, convictions, and patriotism impacted the formation of the United States, focusing on the contributions of the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the country's founding fathers.

As I pondered on what our Founding Fathers AND Founding Mothers sacrificed so that we might enjoy the freedoms we now enjoy I was brought to my knees in prayer to express gratitude to our Heavenly Father for raising up such men and women as these.



Note: More information about the John Adams miniseries can be found at the website www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/ Also, a copy of David McCullough's speech can be found at BYU's website.

Cornell West Insights--Part 3

"A democracy is created to ensure that arbitrary forms of power are not deployed or used against fellow citizens and fellow human beings." "Democracy is affirming the humanity an dignity of people of color."

"I am not a politician. I am a fellow citizen but I am deeply political."

West reminds us of what Malcolm X suggested about the fact that the chickens will come home to roost. "We must not think that there will ever be enough police or prisons to deal with the overwhelming social despair that results from the social neglect in those kindergartens, elementary schools, and secondary schools and high schools.

"Resources are necessary for education, but not sufficient for essential education. "Creative thinking, critical intelligence, deep commitment, connection with students, believing deeply that students can learn are other critical essentials." Yet, when 1% of the population has roughly the same wealth as the bottom 95% of the population, there needs to be a serious discussion about the wealth inequality in this country.

"Charity is not justice."

"I am not optimistic. Anyone who has the audacity to adopt a democratic vision cannot be optimistic, though I do not conflate optimism with hope." Hope means one keeps keeping on to come together to form communities and schools that embody democratic principles.

"Maybe we have a problem. Maybe we ought to really try to take seriously multiracial democracy. Which we know was not the division of the founding fathers, even given their relative wisdom. They could not conceive of black, white, red, yellow, all having equal citizenship status. They could not conceive of women having equal citizenship status. And one says that not to trash them just contextualize them. They had wisdom but it is relative to context, just as we have wisdom today but it is relative to our context. But we are building on their vision...if we do not wrestle...with [its] overwhelming inequality and increasing inequality, then yes, we can begin to lose that precious democratic tradition that was transmitted, bequeathed to us by the best of those who came before."

West reminds us of a staple from the Martin Luther King legacy which was to let go of bitterness, hatred and revenge, regardless of history. We must fall in love with peace and justice and the desire to serve.

What American History To Teach?

"The history curricula of public schools should be constructed around the principle that all people have been significant actors in human events.....The history of minority groups is critical to the understanding of the American past as well as the present.... A successful history education should help students understand what binds Americans together while simultaneously promoting respect for America's pluralism and diversity."

From the Organization of American Historians' Statement

on Multicultural History Education

Looking at history through the lens of different groups of people, will more likely than not result in a clash of perspectives. Therefore, it is critical that each perspective be based upon sound historical scholarship.

Sound historical scholarship can't help but reveal the flaws and imperfections of individuals and groups of people as well as their sterling attributes. After all, they were human, as we are. We must also remember that our history of them was their present. They were living it, not looking at it with hindsight.

It's also important to remember that people from our nation's history such as our founding fathers were aware of their imperfections. Their inability and our nation's inability to live up to the ideals they espoused should in no way diminish the importance and value of those ideals. It is the responsibility of each succeeding generation to carry the torch, striving to come closer to the ideals.

We can only carry that torch and be an educated participant in our democracy if we know our history. Being cynical and negative about our nation's history will dim, if not extinguish, the light of that torch. David McCullough has said, "Cynics don't get much done. Cynics don't advance the cause."

Tomorrow's "blog" post will carry on this discussion focusing on what we can do to advance the cause.