Freedom is elemental to creativity. There is a reason the world’s greatest actors, writers, filmmakers and artists flourish in open societies where liberty is prized.
There is a reason why dictators and totalitarians have always attacked, stigmatized and targeted artists. If the free thinkers and dreamers in a society can be stifled then hope can be crushed — at least for a while. The genius of humanity is unlocked and illustrated by the genius of its writers and artists. The 20th century created a new canvas for the arts with the development of the film industry.
A technological advancement was married to storytelling and the greatest medium for imagination ever invented was unleashed. Movies can take us forward or backwards in time. They can help us imagine long ago events by recreating them. They can make a painting come to life. They can bring to life the people who existed before there was photography and audio recordings. They can bring to life the most momentous events in history and put us in the room “where it happens.”
The actor Paul Giamatti said he knew little about John Adams before he played him in the HBO seven-part biopic ‘John Adams’ that was released in 2008, and based on David McCullough’s biographical masterpiece. Mr. Giamatti’s genius and skill have given his country a great gift. His brilliance has given all of us an opportunity to imagine what occurred in early July of 1776.
Below is a clip from the HBO masterpiece. There were no recordings or transcripts from that day. The speech delivered by Adams was what the great statesman Daniel Webster imagined it to be when he eulogized the passing of both Jefferson and Adams, who both died on July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day that America was born.
Webster spoke about the character of John Adams on that day and said something profound about both remembrance and gratitude. He said:
Fellow-citizen, perhaps it may be doubted whether any two men have ever lived in one age, who, more than those we now commemorate, have impressed on mankind their own opinions more deeply into the opinions of others, or given a more lasting direction to the current of human thought. Their work doth not perish with them. The tree which they assisted to plant will flourish, although they water it and protect it no longer; for it has struck its roots deep, it has sent them to the very centre; no storm, not of foce to burth the orb, can overturn it; its branches spread wide; they stretch their protecting arms braoder and broader, and its top is destined to reach the heavens. We are not deceived. There is no delusion here. No age will come in which the American Revolution will appear less than it is, one of the greatest events in human history. No age will come in which it shall cease to be seen and felt, on either continent, that a mighty step, a great advance, not only in American affairs, but in human affairs, was made on the 4th of July, 1776. And no age will come, we trust, so ignorant or so unjust as not to see and acknowledge the efficient agency of those we now honor in producing that momentous event.
The American Revolution endures. We are a nation of 330 million people, and at long last, freedom means freedom for everybody under American law. The events set in motion in 1776 are still unfolding. The Revolution endures, and soon we will come together and rejoice at the endurance of the republic as we celebrate its 250th birthday. It is a republic that has grown more just and powerful with each passing year. The “cause” endures. The work is unfinished. The challenges ahead will be as dangerous as the ones behind. There is no utopia ahead, and history records no era of calm seas.
What a thing it would be to be able to talk to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. What a thing it would be to show them the portrait of President Barack Obama, and for them to have seen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting an American flag on the surface of the moon.
The world was made new in 1776. The world can be made new every day and in every year.
2022 has ended, and America has endured.
2023 has nearly arrived. Let it be better.
The story of America and her people will continue past another way point, past another mile marker in a few hours. Ahead, there will be tragedy and triumph. We must all resolve to do our part as citizens to protect our inheritance. Perhaps watching the genius of an American artist render the imaginings of one of our most important statesman around one of the most important moments in human history will inspire hope that we, too, will meet the test.
Happy New Year to all.
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write .” - John Adams. Thanks Steve, and all here, for cherishing truth and knowledge. ✌️💕🍾
Happy New Year to you and yours, Steve! In addition, to the John Adams miniseries, a favorite book of mine called Plain, Honest Men by Richard Beeman helped me better understand the true significance of this “experimental” government we are creating and continue to create. I’ve read that book twice and listened to the audio version once. Each time I read it, I pick up new tidbits I missed during previous passes through it. But because I’ve also watched the miniseries, now, whenever I hear or read anything about John Adams now, my internal voice always hears it as Paul Giametti’s voice. I need to re-watch John Adams. It really is very good.