For those of you who enjoy HBO as part of your cable package, make sure you don’t miss  “John Adams” which debuted last night with Paul Giamatti as the “Colossus of the Revolution” and Laura Linney as his unstoppable wife, Abigail, who was as much a player in the revolution as her husband.

I found myself tearing up near the end of the second hour as Linney, exhausted by holding down the family farm, runs her hands over a letter from Adams days after the Continental Congress had cut the chord.

The supporting cast is top notch, the dialog in keeping with period syntax and pace. It is not preachy, or campy. It lays out what a mighty task the founders faced and the guts they showed every step of the way. They literally put their necks on the line for a cause they believed was delivered by Providence, and they didn’t appoint a study committee or a task force to see which was the wind was blowing.

There were many members of the Congress, who had doubts and some who opposed to independence. But when the decision was made, they were all in to defeat the King. 

It seems corny to believe that there were men and women who were so smart but so strong to face down the British Empire and unleash an experiment of freedom that has no peer. But they given to this country by God, and it was God and each other they derived their strength from to ensure we have a country that allows us to pop off on any street corner.

Today, many in our political class routinely engage in rhetorical flourishes as if they had powdered wigs and walking sticks. They would be better served to read David McCullough’s book which this production is based on and take a few notes on how to temper one’s sense of self-importance.

 In the meantime, the work of those brave men allow us to sit around and watch TV, blog late at night or dream of what our country can still become if we honor their sacrifice with some humility and hard work for a common purpose.

Corny still has its uses.