Recently I have been fascinated by the life of former president John Adams. In history they describe him as a pompous man who was argumentative and didn't get along with others in the government very well. He is often maligned by his passage of some unpopular policy as well.
The passage of the Alien and Sedition acts were of the great importance in those times, it helped with national security, also at that time the new government was unstable, republicans often tried get an uproar from the citizens over what the government was doing to protect america. Adams had to do what he saw fit to protect the shaky government at that time.
He was the primary negotiator for the revolutionary war, which many times he received almost no credit at all for, he lived for a few years in holland and france in order to gain support for America.
While serving as the Vice President, Congress enacted a policy that he couldn't speak at congressional debates and meetings, he had to just listen. This was done because they didn't get along with him, they also missed out on his great ideas and vast experience in dealing with foreign governments.
During his campaign Adams had many character attacks launched against him, all paid for secretly by Thomas Jefferson. The man who did this was James Callender.
Callender's attacks on Alexander Hamilton paled in comparison to what he directed at Adams, which amounted to character assassination. In 1799, bankrolled by Jefferson and acting as the editor of the Republican Richmond Examiner, Callender began work on The Prospects before Us. Dredging up the pro-monarchy charges that always dogged Adams, Callender accused the president of being "mentally deranged," planning to crown himself king, and grooming John Quincy as his heir to the throne. Adams was a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman." Adams, alleged Callender, had brought about The Quasi-War crisis with France through his own "steadfast antipathy" toward the former ally. In other words, Adams' reelection would result in war; Jefferson's election would ensure peace.
Undeterred by Jail In publishing The Prospects Before Us, Callender flagrantly violated The Sedition Act. He was jailed in Richmond for nine months, but he didn't mind, bent as he was on reward and martyrdom. Jefferson had been impressed by the smear campaign and wrote, "Such papers cannot fail to produce the best effects."
PardonIn 1800 Adams lost his bid for reelection. Once President Jefferson was in office, he pardoned Callender and others who served time as a result of the Sedition Act, which expired on the last full day of Adams' term in 1801.
Blackmail!Callender, however, desired not just a pardon, but an appointment as postmaster of Richmond. Jefferson now had little use for Callender and denied his request. Callender threatened to go public with secrets Jefferson would prefer not revealed. Through an intermediary, Jefferson's secretary Meriweather Lewis Jefferson gave Callender $50.
Scandal in Print The scorned Callender went to work for Richmond's Federalist paper, the Recorder, where he revealed that Jefferson had subsidized his campaign against Adams. He quoted Jefferson's letters as proof. Jefferson said only that his "charity" had been misconstrued. The increasingly enraged Callender next committed to print what had long been the subject of gossip: the story of Jefferson's long affair with his black slave, Sally Hemings, the "African Venus." "By this wench," wrote Callender in "The President Again," "our president has several children. There is not an individual in the neighborhood of Charlottesville who does not believe the story, and not a few who know it. ..."
It is so odd how history seems to paint Jefferson as a great president and Adams is known mainly for passing the Sedition act.
what most people don't know is that Adam's had a deep love for his spouse, he was constantly writing letters to her and expressing his feelings for her. They were married for 54 years. I especially like one of the things he wrote to her "Dear Miss Saucy, I hereby order you, to give me as many kisses and as many hours of your company as I shall please to demand..." I like the Miss Saucy usage funny. President Adams had a great sense of humor as well.
He was a stand up person, he didn't want to go to war against France and stood firm on that position while president. All of congress wanted to go to war and pressured him. His biggest rival Jefferson was in favor of the war but in later years told Adam's that his decision not to go to war was the right thing to do. Not going to war cost him the election against Jefferson. How many of today's leaders would choose not to go to war if they knew it was going to cost them the next election? NONE OF THEM!!!!
In the first major defeat in an election Adam's quietly went home without any uproar, protest or show of force to stay in office. It was one of the first times in history that a leader stepped down quietly after not being elected by the people of his country.
President Adams stood up for what he believed to be right, was a loving husband and father, he didn't take war lightly, did what was best for the country even if it was not what was best for his political career. All he wanted was to get the recognition he deserved for the many hardships he endured and how America prospered from his actions.
He was not of what we are accustomed in politics today, President Adams was something more, something not to be defined or ever replicated he was something special.
C.S. MENCL
This is the Place!!
Nauvoo
Monday, July 7, 2008
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Thoughts on Life
Over the past few years I have often thought, what are we to make of the ongoing chaos in the world today and in our own lives. When we look around how often do you see serious, quiet reflection from people on trying to deal with what we call life? As for what I see it is a world of violence it is a common theme of mine and those who have been around me lately have often heard me utter a similar phrase such as “There is too much Violence around here.” A question I often think to myself is am I a vindictive type of person that tries to right every wrong at all costs. I hate to admit it but it is easy to get caught up in the righting of every wrong so we feel better about a situation and not caring about the wake destruction that we leave. How often can we quiet that wake of destruction while also correcting problem. My answer to that question is it can be done every single time. The problem seems to be that when someone is wronged these days the goal is to make sure that we enact punishment upon them to the fullest extent we possibly can, this is done at the cost of ignoring mercy. I was once told that I live on an island in my own mind, but that is directly attributed to just ignoring the chaotic things in life that I don’t need to deal with. In life I seem to come across only a few types of people and I come in touch with many people each and everyday.
The types that I see are:
Type One: NON CARER: Don’t care about anything but themselves and being above everybody else. This type protects his things at all costs and with no concern for what happens to others. This type doesn’t really care too much about family (except maybe immediate family) or friends this type just wants to be on top and will do what it takes to get there.
Type Two: CARER: This type cares about people, environment, doing what is right, helping those in need, extending mercy, and being Christ-like in their behavior to the best of their ability.
Type Three: NON CARER IN A CARER’S DISGUISE: This type does everything in the name of righteousness in their opinion but actually has hidden agendas. They want to be seen as Christ-like and loving towards friends, family and the community, but when push comes to shove it is all about protecting his own at all costs with disregard for all others. Usually this type would be considered a KING or QUEEN of GOSSIP, the type that just has to have drama in their life and seems to find it.
When you look at the three types of people I have identified it is easy to see these types in the world. While some people may be only one type many people might even be at times switching from one type to the other depending on situations in their life. People are creatures of habit and usually a person is more in only one category but at times may be persuaded by good or bad and may change out of their dominant category in a given situation.
When looking at these categories you may think that the Non-Carer is the worst of them all, but he isn’t because with that one you know what you are getting the writing is on the wall so to speak. They don’t pretend to be your friend they don’t pretend to care, so at least you know where you stand with them. They don’t extend mercy to anyone, they are problem finders. They are not your friend and they are sure to let you know it.
The Carer is obviously the desired category and what hopefully most people are striving towards. This type has many friends and is well thought of by most others. This type has a cheerful personality, is always looking to extend a helpful hand. Is the type that will extend mercy in every way possible? They are goal oriented and driven people. They are Christ like solution finders to life’s problems. This group is not prideful; they accomplish greatness without fanfare or boasting about themselves. They don’t focus on obtaining more although they may have more then they need as a side benefit because of how they live their life. Their actions show that they believe in Christ.
The absolute worst category which unfortunately seems to be an ever growing category is the Non Carer in a Carer’s Disguise. This type of person always finds something wrong with others or with something that they see. They are problem finders. Some in this category seem to always know everything about every subject. They don’t extend mercy to those who wrong them it is with quick thinking vindictive judgments that they act upon. This type usually likes to gossip about anything and everything, they make friends and burn bridges with many of them. They seem to be never at fault for anything. In their past time they see gossip as recreation, they try to get more and more people caught up in their gossip. The do this to make themselves feel better and try to validate their feelings and actions. They always find drama. This is the type that can find drama on a perfect summer day picnic they could even be the only one on the picnic, so you see they even find conflict with themselves. This type always wants more money, but passes that want off by hiding it under some disguise; they claim everything they do is for the greater good. They are prideful about themselves and in their own abilities and always praising what they have done to others. This type may claim to believe in God but their actions are far from substantiating that belief. The most unfortunate thing about this group is that many times these people are in your own family.
I often find myself in quiet reflection which seems to always lead me to the South Pacific a place I long to go. I don’t want to go to any tourist trap but an island in the middle of the ocean where all I hear is the ocean and the wind, maybe even a few coconuts dropping to the ground. Although I know this place is unrealistic to live in I often think what if it was possible to live in a non-violent environment. I think everyone should have a place that they can go to in their mind where they can get away from the hostility in today’s society.
At this point one may ask themselves what is the point of this writing. The point of this writing is for the reader to evaluate themselves and see what category they are in most of the time. The point isn’t to pat yourself on the back and say you’re doing pretty well, but to intensely evaluate where you stand as a person, friend, spouse, or family member. Then to see where you can improve in your own life and what attributes you personally need to learn. Once you have identified where you need to improve then you need to put in an action plan where by you can accomplish your goals of improvement.
To do this sincerely means that you are honest in your self evaluation and honest in your goals to improve. If you are merely going through the motions just to say you did it then you missed the point and accomplish little to nothing at all.
Many times you may have heard people who say they are going to change their ways and then they outline what their problems are and what they are going to do, but as is the case all to often the changes are short term and the person often reverts back to their comfortable habits. That is why a step by step approach is best. To do this is to outline in writing your areas you want to work on and then develop an action plan to fix those areas. In this plan you must develop emergency procedures that are used when you see yourself starting to revert to your old ways and habits. You must have a daily substitute for the undesirable attribute.
An example of this would be say people at work are gossiping at lunch instead of being a part of it or being silent you can choose two options to show how you don’t condone gossip. You can attack it straight on each day it is done and say you don’t agree with it. Another method would be to state you don’t agree with it and then make sure you’re not in the area where gossip takes place even if it means that you end up eating your lunch by yourself. The second method is best because you cannot be corrupted into gossiping when you are not around it; also it provides you some quiet reflection time if you eat lunch by yourself.
The previous example was and easier one as far as finding a solution to it. Other problem areas may be harder to find a solution to such as showing mercy to those who have wronged you. To do this takes a very collected person to be able to sit back and take in a situation that happened to them or their loved ones and see the action from the opposite point of view, and then to feel compassion for the person who wronged them and truly wanting to help them. Many in this instance try to punish the person to the fullest extent of the law and pass it off as saying it is for the person’s own good. I would say that attitude sure doesn’t have mercy in it and is definitely not part of God’s plan. A good example of punishment without mercy can often be seen in our current legal structure although instances of mercy can also be found in the legal system but with a lot less regularity. When trying to extend mercy a statement one can often think of is, what would Christ do? The answer is to forgive them, but not just to forgive. If possible find a way to help them or to get them the help that they need. All too often in life a person is fiercely punished when they wrong someone. Those who seek to punish do it with malicious intent usually. Things can always be worked out if we have an eye single to the glory of god.
Each person has their own difficulties and has to find their own solutions. There are some good sources though to help find solutions and things we can do each day that will help us gain perspective. There are many things we can do but I will list some of my personal favorites. I like to listen to Stephen R. Covey CD’s, reading scriptures (most obvious), meditation, praying, singing and listening to good songs, watching uplifting movies, give service to those in need, read uplifting magazines or books. Those are just a few possible things that a person can add to their life which may replace the time you spend engaged in some of the undesirable habits and also to help you to develop the desirable habits.
I thank all those who sincerely read my written thoughts and actually try to improve themselves. Throughout all the conflict in life if we each try to improve ourselves the world will be a kinder, more gentle and Christ like place for us to inhabit.
C.S. Mencl
The types that I see are:
Type One: NON CARER: Don’t care about anything but themselves and being above everybody else. This type protects his things at all costs and with no concern for what happens to others. This type doesn’t really care too much about family (except maybe immediate family) or friends this type just wants to be on top and will do what it takes to get there.
Type Two: CARER: This type cares about people, environment, doing what is right, helping those in need, extending mercy, and being Christ-like in their behavior to the best of their ability.
Type Three: NON CARER IN A CARER’S DISGUISE: This type does everything in the name of righteousness in their opinion but actually has hidden agendas. They want to be seen as Christ-like and loving towards friends, family and the community, but when push comes to shove it is all about protecting his own at all costs with disregard for all others. Usually this type would be considered a KING or QUEEN of GOSSIP, the type that just has to have drama in their life and seems to find it.
When you look at the three types of people I have identified it is easy to see these types in the world. While some people may be only one type many people might even be at times switching from one type to the other depending on situations in their life. People are creatures of habit and usually a person is more in only one category but at times may be persuaded by good or bad and may change out of their dominant category in a given situation.
When looking at these categories you may think that the Non-Carer is the worst of them all, but he isn’t because with that one you know what you are getting the writing is on the wall so to speak. They don’t pretend to be your friend they don’t pretend to care, so at least you know where you stand with them. They don’t extend mercy to anyone, they are problem finders. They are not your friend and they are sure to let you know it.
The Carer is obviously the desired category and what hopefully most people are striving towards. This type has many friends and is well thought of by most others. This type has a cheerful personality, is always looking to extend a helpful hand. Is the type that will extend mercy in every way possible? They are goal oriented and driven people. They are Christ like solution finders to life’s problems. This group is not prideful; they accomplish greatness without fanfare or boasting about themselves. They don’t focus on obtaining more although they may have more then they need as a side benefit because of how they live their life. Their actions show that they believe in Christ.
The absolute worst category which unfortunately seems to be an ever growing category is the Non Carer in a Carer’s Disguise. This type of person always finds something wrong with others or with something that they see. They are problem finders. Some in this category seem to always know everything about every subject. They don’t extend mercy to those who wrong them it is with quick thinking vindictive judgments that they act upon. This type usually likes to gossip about anything and everything, they make friends and burn bridges with many of them. They seem to be never at fault for anything. In their past time they see gossip as recreation, they try to get more and more people caught up in their gossip. The do this to make themselves feel better and try to validate their feelings and actions. They always find drama. This is the type that can find drama on a perfect summer day picnic they could even be the only one on the picnic, so you see they even find conflict with themselves. This type always wants more money, but passes that want off by hiding it under some disguise; they claim everything they do is for the greater good. They are prideful about themselves and in their own abilities and always praising what they have done to others. This type may claim to believe in God but their actions are far from substantiating that belief. The most unfortunate thing about this group is that many times these people are in your own family.
I often find myself in quiet reflection which seems to always lead me to the South Pacific a place I long to go. I don’t want to go to any tourist trap but an island in the middle of the ocean where all I hear is the ocean and the wind, maybe even a few coconuts dropping to the ground. Although I know this place is unrealistic to live in I often think what if it was possible to live in a non-violent environment. I think everyone should have a place that they can go to in their mind where they can get away from the hostility in today’s society.
At this point one may ask themselves what is the point of this writing. The point of this writing is for the reader to evaluate themselves and see what category they are in most of the time. The point isn’t to pat yourself on the back and say you’re doing pretty well, but to intensely evaluate where you stand as a person, friend, spouse, or family member. Then to see where you can improve in your own life and what attributes you personally need to learn. Once you have identified where you need to improve then you need to put in an action plan where by you can accomplish your goals of improvement.
To do this sincerely means that you are honest in your self evaluation and honest in your goals to improve. If you are merely going through the motions just to say you did it then you missed the point and accomplish little to nothing at all.
Many times you may have heard people who say they are going to change their ways and then they outline what their problems are and what they are going to do, but as is the case all to often the changes are short term and the person often reverts back to their comfortable habits. That is why a step by step approach is best. To do this is to outline in writing your areas you want to work on and then develop an action plan to fix those areas. In this plan you must develop emergency procedures that are used when you see yourself starting to revert to your old ways and habits. You must have a daily substitute for the undesirable attribute.
An example of this would be say people at work are gossiping at lunch instead of being a part of it or being silent you can choose two options to show how you don’t condone gossip. You can attack it straight on each day it is done and say you don’t agree with it. Another method would be to state you don’t agree with it and then make sure you’re not in the area where gossip takes place even if it means that you end up eating your lunch by yourself. The second method is best because you cannot be corrupted into gossiping when you are not around it; also it provides you some quiet reflection time if you eat lunch by yourself.
The previous example was and easier one as far as finding a solution to it. Other problem areas may be harder to find a solution to such as showing mercy to those who have wronged you. To do this takes a very collected person to be able to sit back and take in a situation that happened to them or their loved ones and see the action from the opposite point of view, and then to feel compassion for the person who wronged them and truly wanting to help them. Many in this instance try to punish the person to the fullest extent of the law and pass it off as saying it is for the person’s own good. I would say that attitude sure doesn’t have mercy in it and is definitely not part of God’s plan. A good example of punishment without mercy can often be seen in our current legal structure although instances of mercy can also be found in the legal system but with a lot less regularity. When trying to extend mercy a statement one can often think of is, what would Christ do? The answer is to forgive them, but not just to forgive. If possible find a way to help them or to get them the help that they need. All too often in life a person is fiercely punished when they wrong someone. Those who seek to punish do it with malicious intent usually. Things can always be worked out if we have an eye single to the glory of god.
Each person has their own difficulties and has to find their own solutions. There are some good sources though to help find solutions and things we can do each day that will help us gain perspective. There are many things we can do but I will list some of my personal favorites. I like to listen to Stephen R. Covey CD’s, reading scriptures (most obvious), meditation, praying, singing and listening to good songs, watching uplifting movies, give service to those in need, read uplifting magazines or books. Those are just a few possible things that a person can add to their life which may replace the time you spend engaged in some of the undesirable habits and also to help you to develop the desirable habits.
I thank all those who sincerely read my written thoughts and actually try to improve themselves. Throughout all the conflict in life if we each try to improve ourselves the world will be a kinder, more gentle and Christ like place for us to inhabit.
C.S. Mencl
2 comments:
What have you been reading? We have a book called "John Adams" by David McCullough. It is one of the best books I've read. Dad has read it twice and I started reading it again. It has parts of Adams letters in it. Yes, you are right Adams was a great man, great politician, great father and a loving husband. Adams and his wife adored each other. Dad and I have both talked about how we need to develop some of his traits. They are so commendable and I've thought I should read it again for the purpose of concentrating on those traits. Even though Jefferson smeared him, Adams continued to write letters to Jefferson. Both Adams and his wife were people of high and good character. I recommend the reading of the above book to everyone.
Thanks for posting this. I'll have to read more on John Adams. Grandma used to tell us we were related to him. I love reading your posts. Miss you guys!
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