Hamilton Shows Us the Way

As of today, Hamilton is now available on Disney+ -- and I would like to encourage any conservative who has avoided this musical up until now because of the race swaps, the musical style, and/or the politics of its creator to give it a try. I really think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Hamilton is not especially good history. But despite its tendency to play up the immigrant angle (which doesn't really apply to the gentleman in question) and its other lefty tics, I still like it for two reasons. First of all, I think it does get the character of our country exactly right. We are a rebellious, scrappy people who dearly prize our freedom and aspire to transcend the circumstances into which we are born. And yes: as Hamilton makes abundantly clear, this is a place where someone starting at the bottom rung of our society can "rise up" through his own intelligence and industry. When all is said and done, Hamilton does not buy into the pernicious fictions of the 1619 Project. At base, it's optimistic about the American idea -- and for the most part, it treats our Founders with genuinely patriotic reverence (except, perhaps, for Thomas Jefferson, but I think that's due to the built-in pro-Hamilton slant of the text and not due to any antipathy for America as a whole).

Secondly - and perhaps more importantly - Hamilton stands as an implicit rebuke of critical social justice. How so? Well, consider its provenance: Lin Manuel Miranda originally wrote this clever work of art (and it is art in the truest sense, I think) because he read Ron Chernow's biography of our first treasurer and saw himself in Hamilton's story. In other words, Miranda - who's proudly, almost aggressively Puerto Rican - identified with a white guy. Imagine that! Imagine looking beyond skin color and nationality and considering experiences instead! Isn't that supposed to be impossible? Aren't we supposed to stick to our lanes?

Hamilton is unabashedly appropriative -- and I think that's great. I want immigrants and people of color to think that our history belongs to them because I honestly believe such raiding of our patrimony will do more to unify our multi-ethnic society than balkanized graduation ceremonies, so-called "black national anthems," or the rest of the divisive crap our new segregationists are trying to force down our throats for the sake of their "antiracism" crusade.

So yes: go and watch Hamilton if you can. It sends an absolutely vital message that American history is human history, not "white" history that we must abhor.

7/7 Edit: Here's another good article on Hamilton's pro-America spirit.