Today, I am thankful for an individual who never waited for anything in his life.
The musical Hamilton is a nearly three-hour, non-stop story of the determined immigrant Alexander Hamilton and his endless pursuit of freedom, prosperity, and legacy. If you have never listened to the music from Hamilton or seen theproduction on Broadway or on tour, you simply are missing out. Irrespective of the type of music you like, I can promise you that Hamilton will keep you thoroughly entertained. The musical is the masterful brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda, an incredible, forward-thinkingartist who had prior to Hamilton’s production already earned his share of fame and recognition for his Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. Based on Ron Chernow’s comprehensive, well-researched biography of the United States first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton has been described as the quintessential artistic masterpiece. The production is a veritable magnum opus that artistically blends an awesome story of the least-known founding father with an eclectic variety of musical genres – including musical show tunes, English love ballads, rock, jazz, rhythm and blues tunes, and, of course, hip-hop and rap. If you don’t want to take my word for it, take the word of the former First Lady, Michelle Obama: “It was simply, as I tell everybody, the best piece of art in any form that I haveever seen in my life.” She’s not exaggerating. Hamilton is that good, and I can’t wait until I see it again. In fact, I don’t know why I waited so long to see it in the first place.
Hamilton gives me the opportunity to expound a bit about the natural tug-and-pull we face in our daily lives between the power of maintaining patience and waiting for something good to transpireversus the inevitable finality of time. Humans are naturally impulsive creatures; yet, we also excel at allowing our prior experiences to influence our future actions—in fact, the latter forms the basis of wisdom. The Hamilton story is all about the “yin yang” that humans face between the impulsive desire to “go for broke” vs. the more cautious, risk-averse approach for waiting for things to naturally run their course. In the Broadway musical, Alexander Hamilton is a prototype of the former, while Aaron Burr, his friend-turned-rival, is an exemplar of the latter. The opening numbers in the musical demonstrate exactly why Hamilton is such a braggadocious, carefree whipper-snapper. As an abandoned orphan, Hamilton was graced by the generosity of others who paid for his travels from the Caribbean to New York City after realizing his extraordinary potential as an author. Hamilton learned at any early age that if he was going to be successful in life, he was not going to have it bestowed upon him. In short, hewould not “throw away his shot” but rather go after whatever he wanted.
With his raison d’etre fully reaffirmed, Hamilton stands up for what he believes in and goes after what he wants – fighting valiantly in the American Revolution in an all-out pursuit of American independence; endlessly wooing the beautiful, well-to-do daughter of General Schuyler, Ms. Eliza; taking on a challenging new role as Washington’s war-time secretary strategist at the General’s behest; and eagerly accepting and excelling at the Secretary of Treasury post in President’s Washington cabinet. In fact, on this day (Sept 11) in 1789, Hamilton began his 6-year campaign as the first Secretary of the Treasury. As a self-proclaimed zealot and massive pain, he pushes the envelope on more than one occasion, stepping on his share of toes. Of course, good things come to him in his impulsive pursuits…until they don’t.
Meanwhile, his counterpart, Aaron Burr is slower to react. Espousing to the mindset of never letting “others know what you're against or what you’re for,” Burr takes a more methodical, calculated approach. As he notes in his response to several young revolutionaries in a tavern one night, “I see you’re takin’ a stand; you spit, I’m ‘a sit, and we’ll see where we land.” We learn more about his deliberative, thoughtful approach later in the musical, in an aptly-named song, “Wait for It.” So, as the years pass, Burr is glacially slow to support the American Revolution, the new US Constitution, and public service. When he finally decides to enter the political mix, his “stand on thesidelines and don’t commit to anything” approach does not garnerhim the support of his once-beloved friend, Hamilton, or even the American public. A bit exasperated, Burr decides to finally take an impulsive approach against Hamilton, and, well, you know what happens next.
So, today, as we continue our celebration this week of American laborers who helped forge this marvelous nation, I’d like to take a moment to pay tribute to the one man who helped secure our financial future through the development of the National Bank, the creation of the US Mint and Federal Reserve, and even the establishment of a national deficit that forgave the individuals states of their own financial deficits, thereby allowing the young nation to prosper.
They say good things only come to those who wait. Sadly, I must disagree. If there a million things you haven’t done, go out and tackle them. Sometimes, if you wait for it, it never comes.
Comments