Lessons from ‘Hamilton’

Here’s the perfect gift for anyone who is upset about the current state of affairs in American politics. A ticket to see Hamilton – or if you can’t score one of those, get the book it’s based on.

It’s only 731 pages, not counting the footnotes.

And as you read, it you realize there really is nothing new in American politics. Everything’s sped up by technology, but people are no different.

Politicians were scheming with foreigners to affect elections and trying to covert it up. Hamilton was seen as being in the back pocket of an evil foreign despot – the King of England.

Powerful men were hypersensitive about their personal honor. The duel that killed Hamilton was set in motion over Hamilton’s use of a single word — “despicable.” How dare you say “despicable!”

The newspapers were full of fake news. Pop quiz: Who once said, “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper?” Time’s up. It was President Thomas Jefferson.

In fact, Hamilton founded his own newspaper just to troll President Jefferson. It’s still being published today:

“A cover unlike any anything we’ve seen before that only the New York Post can do.”

It’s called the New York Post and it’s still trolling politicians.

Finally, let’s not forget that the man who shot Hamilton was the sitting vice president, who was so unfazed he came back to preside over the Senate as if nothing had happened. And yet through it all, the nation survived. We even got a hit musical out of it.

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