After watching the Bucks blow a victory against the “unstoppable” Lakers, I decided I needed to start reading one of the myriad of books that line my shelves that I haven’t gotten to due to more important things…like Joe Millionaire. Since the last book I read was a weighty historical tome about the entire history of the Ottoman Empire, I was looking to burn through a fun page turner full of impossible action and witty dialogue. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything by Bernard Cornwell I haven’t read yet, so I decided to finally start reading the biography of John Adams I bought for my vacation but decided at the last minute it was too damn heavy to bring. I’m very glad I made this decision as it’s opened my eyes to a very important American character who I know far too little about. Damn public schools. Anyways, I’m a very big admirer of the Founding Fathers of our country and I don’t think they get nearly as much love and credit as they deserve nowadays. These men sacrificed everything in the name of justice and principles and the most we can do is combine George Washington’s day with Abraham Lincoln’s to make a meaningless “President’s Day” and make a disparaging movie about Jefferson knockin’ the boots with his slaves. Horrible, really. I’ve read much on the Revolutionary war including a biography of George Washington who was an extraordinary man completely different from what the common knowledge of him is. Not only did he tell lies, but he was technically the head of his country’s intelligence department spreading dissemination to the British! He was almost like James Bond…only without the cool gadgets. Or dalliances with beautiful women, or a drinking problem…o.k., he’s not really anything like James Bond, except for the fact that they’re both British. Anyways, in my readings I have always found John Adams to be the butt of many jokes at the expense of the hero worship bestowed upon Thomas Jefferson, but it seems he was more of an everyman than the aristocratic Jefferson.

“We have not men fit for the times. We are deficient in genius, education, in travel, fortune-in everything. I feel unutterable anxiety.” No, that’s not a quote from the Howard Dean campaign; it’s the words of John Adams written in his lengthy and detailed journals just before the Continental Congress met in 1776. As you can see, it’s in line with probably every era. We always have very little confidence in our leaders as they apparently have their own lack of self-confidence, and yet, sometimes they surprise us. It’s quite amazing really; you read history books about all these important figures and you never really see them as living, breathing men and women, but as cardboard cutouts that serve their part in history as though it was ordained. Reading the actual thoughts gives you a glimpse into the type of people they were, and strangely enough, it often mirrors our own. We know that the American Revolution would be ultimately successful, but to the people involved, it was a scary, unpredictable time rife with dangers from armies or disease. If you think you’re stressed out about the Iraq war, imagine what it was like to have 20,000 soldiers within riding distance from your house ready to crush any who would stand up against them. When you look at all the instances in history that were decided by the smallest of details, it makes you quite thankful that these men were the ones in charge of America’s destiny. We could have ended up in endless civil wars, a monarchy or countless other horrible choices. Somehow we ended up with the best damn government on the face of the Earth where changes occur peacefully as opposed to the bloodshed that was quite common in the past. I think this is what impresses me most about the Founding fathers; not their intelligence or tenacity, but their self control. As Lord Acton said, Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Somehow, with a strange combination of deeply held religious convictions, an open mind to a new line of thought regarding humanism, and a deep sense of justice they managed not to screw everything up. George Washington actually walked away from the Presidency! Nobody voted him down or ran him out on a rail; he chose to leave on his own. How many politicians can you think of that would do that today? I don’t know if it was the right men at the right time or just the right men choosing it was their time. I’d like to believe it’s the latter as it fits in with my belief that we aren’t just wandering in a random universe with no control over our future, but a free thinking race that can make our own tomorrow. I sure hope so…