John Adams For President, Again

I have been reading a new book lately, John Adams by David McCullough. It is a very good read, but even more than that it reveals the character of a man that was one of the leading shapers of our government. Unlike some of the "gilded gentry", like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, Adams was a common man in so many ways with solid values. He owned a small amount of property compared to the two men he served between as President. He worked his own land, owning no slaves and embraced a debt-free mentality.

Adams, also, loved freedom with the same passion that he loved his dear wife, Abigail. Like all good New Englanders, he spoke his mind without reservation and relished good conversation. He kept his integrity inspite of the bane of political intrigue and factionalism that existed in the new found halls of the American experience of government.

Adams was not without flaws, however. He, for instance, had an overwhelming since of ambition. He even attempted to get the new congress to come up with a more august title for the Presidency when he became the President. But, to his credit, he acknowledged his flaws in his letters and dairies and constantly saw the need to reform his deficiences of character.

We need more men like John Adams in this country. A man who spoke his mind with great conviction. A man who understood the falleness of the human heart and took measures to ensure that our government had true "checks and balances" to keep any segment of society and government from taking too much power. A man who loved his family with complete devotion. A man who hated the enslavement of the black race realizing that they deserved the same freedoms that he himself staked his life, his fortunes, and his sacred honor on.

Adams made a comment on the eve of the signing of the declaration of independence that showed his perspective on the historical significance of the American quest of birthing the most powerful form of government the world has ever seen and the price it would take to secure it's reality:

The object is great which we have in view, and we must expect a great expense of blood to obtain it. But we should always remember that a free constitution of civil government cannot be purchased at too dear a rate, as there is nothing on this side of Jerusalem of equal importance to mankind.

Adams compares the cost of securing the "American experiment" with that of the cost of securing our salvation in Jerusalem. Freedom is always costly and is always worth the cost. Adams saw the redemption purchased at Calvary as the singular event of human history. He realized that Jesus paid the price that bought our freedom from the tyranny of sin and guilt. He also knew that there was no greater cause since that time that merited the sacred sacrifice of blood to secure a republican form of government.

May we, like Adams, hold both of our freedoms sacred (freedom from sin and death, and freedom as American citizens) and work to maintain those freedoms at all cost.