American revolution

As a Hamilton head, I was struck by an interview where documentarian Ken Burns argued the American Revolution was driven less by ideals and more by land and money. While Lin-Manuel Miranda may have taken some historical liberties in Hamilton, he understood a deeper truth: history doesn’t repeat—it rhymes.

When I was a lowercase j, my mom wouldn’t let me watch much TV, but she did force me to watch two shows: Roots and documetarian Ken Burns’ The Civil War. I enjoyed Roots—especially the parts in Africa before Kunta Kinte got kidnapped into bondage—but the slavery arc of Roots plus most of The Civil War was way too heavy for lil’ j. But my mom was on a mission, and I was going to learn about What Happened to “My” People.

I get what she was trying to do, but I sometimes wonder if it occurred to my blonde-haired, blue-eyed momma—bless her soul—that most of the people who looked like her half-Black son in the only shows she insisted I watch were enslaved. That may have done more harm to the quality of my consciousness than good.

Probably not as much harm, though, as when I asked my dad—who grew up in the Jim Crow South—while watching The Jetsons why there were no Black people in the future and he responded by turning off the TV and putting me on punishment with no cartoons. I’m still reeling from that one.

Even though getting through The Civil War was a slog, it was compelling enough that as an adult I felt called to watch other Burns docs like Baseball and Jazz. I’m not big on war stories, but as a Hamilton superfan, I was actually excited for his new one on the American Revolution. What struck me most about Hamilton is that the titular character seems genuinely excited to be alive during a time of upheaval, and embraces the opportunity to challenge and change the status quo rather than fear it.

Then I read an interview with Burns where he emphasized that the Revolution wasn’t about ideals—it was about land and money. He quotes historian Annette Gordon-Reed reflecting on our founding fathers:

“Jefferson knew slavery was wrong. Washington knew slavery was wrong.
And how could you keep doing something you know is wrong?
Well…that’s the human story for all of us.”

And it hit me: most of us are modern-day slavers—only this time, we’ve fooled the slaves into thinking they’re the masters and the plantation sends quarterly dividends.

The founders knew slavery was wrong, yet kept it going because they were too entrenched in the system and too afraid of what would happen if they let it go. They were all about protecting their land and their money. They talked a good game about liberty and equality, but at the end of the day they cashed dem checks off plantations worked by Black chattel slaves. They chose comfort over conscience. They were greedy.

Today, we all know corporate values are wrong, but we keep them going because we’re entrenched in a corporate regime and afraid of what might collapse without it. We give lip service to hope and change, yet at the end of the day, most of us bankroll corporations that put profits over people and the planet just to fund our retirement. We’re all about protecting our money and our stuff to the detriment of human values. We’re greedy.

As Mark Twain said, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Only now the folks at the top have convinced the slaves—us—to fund the masters through retirement accounts we may never spend. It’s madness.

They keep us appeased on our knees saying, please.

Feeding us crumbs—just enough to survive, and never enough to thrive.

My SO Jodi has a theory that the ruling class aren’t even of this planet—more like the Skeksis from The Dark Crystal. I don’t know about all that—although I wouldn’t be stunned if she was right—but I do believe power infects people with spiritual diseases that corrode consciousness and manifest as greed.

According to Ken Burns, that’s just human nature. 

But I don’t view it that way.

If greed is human nature, then I choose to transcend it. And evolve.

Nature gave us the most sacred gift in the world: free will. Unlike the rest of the known organic species, we don’t have to wait for natural selection to evolve—we can choose to improve the quality of our consciousness. That’s our species’ niche in nature.

Washington and Jefferson didn’t have to own slaves—they chose to.
And I don’t have to perpetuate modern-day slavery by owning stock in the Seven Sinners of the S&P 500, which most of us with retirement accounts do.
So I don’t.

Don’t get it twisted—I’m still hella greedy.
But owning pieces of modern-day plantations? 
No thank you.

Instead, I’m waging my own internal, spiritual American Revolution—one centered on improving the quality of my consciousness. Because meaningful change only happens from the inside out, never the outside in.

And if I refuse to be a slave to my own greed, maybe I help stop enslaving others in the process.