quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
...

While Washington gets a lot of accolades and it was a massive effort from many, Adams' role was quite pivotal.

Agreed. Each man served the efforts to build this nation with their own talents. Washington, first in his service as a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress and his steadfast support of Massachusetts in their ongoing confrontations with the British, later with his military leadership in the Revolution, and still later as President.

Adams served first as a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, and as one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, ('if Thomas Jefferson was the pen of the Declaration of Independence then John Adams was its voice') then later as representative of the Continental Congress, first to the French and later to the Dutch, in order to secure their support for the war and the money needed to start to build a new nation, still later as Vice President to Washington, and finally as President.

I'm always amazed and touched at the number of years that our founding fathers spent away from their own homes, families, and businesses in service to building a new nation based in freedom, and this is especially true for John Adams.

For whatever his flaws and errors, some depicted in the miniseries, John Adams' and his family lived a life of service to this nation, and he deserves to be recognized for that service, along with all of our founding fathers.

Watching this scene, watching Washington walk out onto the balcony and the crowd breaking into cheers and waving American flags-

We're so far from this now, and it is heartbreaking.

Small aside prompted by para’s post above of the inauguration of George Washington. I did a work detail in Washington, ironically in 2008. I had enough time there to see a lot of the Capital. I have an indelible memory from the National Museum of American History. There they have a uniform of General George Washington in a glass case on the floor of the museum. I’m still struck by the fact that I was standing just a foot away from a uniform of Washington. I was awestruck. I remain awestruck.

We no longer have HBO. Makes me sad today.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Watching this scene, watching Washington walk out onto the balcony and the crowd breaking into cheers and waving American flags-

We're so far from this now, and it is heartbreaking.

Maybe that’s why the scene is so emotional for me. Knowing this country is just about lost and a dim reflection of what it once was. Even in my short lifetime…

I watched all but the last episode and waited until tonight to finish it. I find this final entry hard to watch. Much sadness in it