Nobility In the Worst of Times

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. It was the season of Light; it was the season of Darkness. It was the spring of hope; it was the winter of despair. Some people had everything to look forward to, while others had nothing to look forward to--much like today." Charles Dickens--Tale of Two Cities

I had the opportunity yesterday to watch the Tale of Two Cities, a movie based on one of my most favorite books. There are so many characters with whom I fall in love, but none more so than Sydney Carton. Even though Carton is an alcoholic and a cynic it is he who ends up paying the ultimate sacrifice--willingly laying down his life so another might live.

Carton is a reminder that living in the worst of times can bring out the noble in people, even in those who seem to be the most unlikely.

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.