Giants

Bravo to HBO for the just-completed seven-part John Adams mini-series. While perhaps imperfect, it succeeds completely in renewing interest in the formation of our great nation and, in the final episode chronicling the 25 years of his early 17th Century post-Presidency, a passage into pastoral irrelevancy sans Presidential pension let alone multi-million dollar lecture fees or donation-magnet libraries, it achieves a movingly elegiac sweep of this crucial man's life.

After Laura Linney's Abigail passes into the great beyond and an all-but-certain Emmy, Adams begins his famous correspondence with former revolutionary collaborator and political rival Thomas Jefferson, which ended when they both died, unbeknownst to each other on the very same day, the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence they co-authored (with help from Franklin, Sherman and Livingston). This is the redemption point of the series, where Adams finally becomes a whole human being capable of both forgiveness and self-forgiveness, and the American tradition of friendship and respect beyond political differences makes us, as an audience, whole.

Once again, I guess, America is on the edge of its seat.

Independence

Just watched the second episode of HBO's John Adams, and without going into a detailed analysis, I just have to say how gratifying it is to be reminded that this great nation was born of insurrection.

The short pieces of battle scenes, like with the Massachusetts patriots in the woods after routing the British redcoats attacking Concord, play almost like science fiction genre, what with our ridiculous inability to teach Civics any more.

The episode climax with the vote for and unveiling of the Declaration of Independence, intercutting the big event public reading in Philadelphia replete with drums and John Adams, and Abigail Adams reading it with their children, touched all that deep American patriotism I learned as a child and am ready to believe in again should a certain Senator from Illinois be sworn in as President next January.

Thanks to our Constitution, America can have a revolution every four years without a single drop of blood being spilled. There are times for boldness and times for moderation. Maybe the makers of John Adams thought that with this episode they would mainly tap into contemporary feelings about our own Kingly George. But there's something else going on here that they could not have predicted.

I've begun to argue that a consensus is building. It can still be derailed, but it is a powerful thing when it builds, it is out of the ordinary, it has vast consequences, all of which is what makes it historic should it succeed.

It's important to be reminded, as I was by the episode tonight, that our Declaration of Independence, the decision to dissolve union with the mother country and invent a brand new government, had to be by acclamation (12 for, NY abstaining due to deep Tory ties but not standing in the way).

The decision of the Founding Fathers to accept the mantle of insurrection is why we're all here today. And at this moment of American history, consensus on insurrection, through the legal means of Presidential Election, is going to be what's needed.

Not impossible.