There is so much I could unpack about this special event. For starters, I am so grateful that it was livestreamed so I could participate, including the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250). It brought back memories of July 2009. As my parents and I were in the initial hours of our journey back to Chicago from a vacation in Williamsburg, VA, I requested we stop in Richmond to visit St. John's Episcopal Church, the site of the Second Virginia Convention. We went inside and heard from an interpreter the story of the church, the convention, and the speech.
So I already had context for the site when watching today's event. As impressive as the reenactment were the speeches given beforehand. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin had great remarks. One part that stood out to me was the power of prayer at work, as he referenced Benjamin Franklin's remarks at the Constitutional Convention that as a bird could not fall without God's notice, so an empire could not rise without his help. I was glad to hear a public official state how the Founding Fathers acknowledge God's role in the start of the nation, in the midst of so much uncertainty.
Ken Burns insightfully noted that it's easy to focus on certain incredible words to the point of creating legends about them. At the same time, he noted that the American Revolution period had so many important words, like the ones spoken by Patrick Henry. As I reflected on that remark, I realized how important it is to have events like this reenactment that present the context of the speech so we can connect with its original context and see it in its original reality.
And then Carly Fiorina, the national honorary chair of the VA 250 Commission, noted that this event reminds us of how the USA was started by principles, which have remained important throughout the centuries and made an impact the breadth of this country that spans from coast to coast. In Virginia, all of us, the people of the United States, can connect with those principles and be inspired by them.
One important aspect of the speech to note is that there was no transcript of the meeting. The speech was shared orally for years until it was written in the 19th Century, nearly 40 years later. That speaks to the power of oral sharing of history. (I actually remember I had an assignment in 7th grade to memorize a speech or poem. I had wanted to do this speech, but the assignment stipulated I had to share at minimum, the first 8 lines, and I wasn't sure I could memorize the whole speech so I could state the epic concluding words.)
And again, it happened in the midst of a discussion at the meeting. The reenactors did a great job expressing their diverging views about not wanting to provoke the mightiest superpower on Earth at the time versus recognizing that Britian was making moves against the colonies to restrict freedoms. Even when Patrick Henry spoke, people raised concerns, and then he responded to them, like when he said, "They say we are weak", or "'People may cry, Peace, Peace'".
So many great words were spoken in that speech that came alive again this afternoon, enhanced by remarks of those who spoke before the reenactment started. It was an opportunity to see history in its context and appreciate what the Founding Fathers had to contend with in a difficult situation and how they responded as they summoned forth the spirit of liberty that continues to beat at the heart of the USA.
Huzzah!
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