I began watching the HBO John Adams mini-series tonight just for the Thomas Jefferson scenes. I know it seems a bit extreme, but they are my favorite parts in the entire mini-series. I started from Episode 2 where you first meet TJ during the First Continental Congress, and continued to the last episode where both TJ and John Adams pass away.
As the episodes progress, the friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson becomes strained and ultimately ends due to their different political ideals. One of the issues was that TJ did not get along with Alexander Hamilton, and did not agree with the fact that when John Adams became president Adams kept Hamilton in the presidential cabinet. There are more reasons such as, TJ’s loyalty to France, and their political rivalry.
Eventually, the friendship was renewed through letters sent to each other after the passing of Adam’s wife, Abigail. The men realized that all that had happened in the past did not matter anymore, and they were companions since they had experienced so much together.
Though their friendship was renewed and they wrote hundreds of letter to one another, they never saw each other again. The whole point of this rant is that I began to truly feel sad about how their friendship had ended. I know they eventually became friends again, but just the idea of them not speaking to each other for years made my heart feel heavy. It made me think of how friendships can come and go, even when they are so great, which just depresses me. I know this may seem naïve and juvenile to say, but I really wish people did not change and people never went away. My only comfort in all this is that the men did become friends again.
Soon after watching the mini-series, the movie Gods and Generals came on HBO. It is a movie about the trials and tribulations of the civil war, which I’ve always wanted to see. I wish I could watch it, but at this moment I do not think my heart can handle any more heartache for the night. So now I turn off my TV and computer in hopes that maybe I can fall asleep quickly and have the sadness dissipate. But I know that is the most naïve statement in this entire rant.
Aw. Tear.
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