Last week it was my singular honor to be the featured speaker at a historical association. I was asked to speak on my popular talk, Six Great Men, which is an overview of the Founding Fathers, specifically Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
To say it went over well would be something of an understatement. The audience laughed at times, clapped at times, and during the Q&A, there was no lull in the activity – as so many hands went up to pose a question that I couldn’t get to them all, causing some of the audiences members to approach me at the conclusion of the meeting to get their questions in.
I was amused by one of the historians who approached me afterwards, a petite lady who appeared to be in her mid-70s. She was a seasoned professional who asked me with great earnest what I believed each of the Six Great Men would say if they were alive today about the fact that we have a candidate running for president who is a fascist. I asked her, “By fascist, are you referring to Donald Trump?” She replied that is who she had in mind. I was delighted she didn’t ask for my own personal opinion about that allegation, but instead wanted to know what I thought the Founding Fathers would say about Trump. Without recounting the details, I had a delightful moment with her as I explained why none of the Founding Fathers would likely see Trump as a fascist, and that Alexander Hamilton would have likely demanded to know what evidence of fascism was found within Trump during his first term. I was also able to plant the seed in her mind that Franklin would have urged for reconciliation, and for both sides to be more conciliatory and to try to truly understand each other rather than be beguiled by propaganda.
There is talk of them having me back next year for another deep-dive into the Six Great Men and I am looking forward to that!
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