Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks on a Zoom call for the January 6 remembrance event.
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I Am Begging Democrats To Find One (1) Other Reference Besides Hamilton

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Vivian Kane
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Published: Jan 6, 2022 05:02 pm

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On the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, where a bunch of Trump-loving insurrectionists tried to stop Congress from certifying the electoral college vote cementing Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election, everyone in Washington D.C. is playing their given roles.

Joe Biden gave a speech decrying Donald Trump’s attempt at a straight-up coup. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a bizarre criticism that Biden was trying to “politicize” said coup, which was inherently political. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are yelling about how the insurrection was actually patriotic or whatever.

And meanwhile, House Democrats are doing this:

Yes, ahead of a discussion with historians regarding the historical significance of the Capitol attack, Nancy Pelosi introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda, who then introduced cast members from Hamilton, to sing “Dear Theodosia” from the musical.

Miranda explained that the song is fitting because it’s all about moving forward and passing down “a more perfect union” to future generations and yes, that’s very nice. But was this really the right time for a musical number? And did it really have to be from this play?

Hamilton has long become the theatrical equivalent of “Read Another Book”—the internet’s response to “the overreliance on comparisons to Harry Potter in mainstream politics, particularly by Resistance Twitter users,” as Know Your Meme explains it.

I am begging Democrats to find another stage production.

I say this as someone who still truly loves Hamilton, but Democrats’ insistence on quoting, celebrating, or otherwise alluding to Hamilton at every single turn feels like they are relishing in the opportunity to embrace a sort of sanctimonious patriotism. They are playing at diversity rather than demonstrating an understanding of the realities of people’s actual lives today and working to meet their needs through meaningful policy.

The song was clearly an attempt at instilling optimism in themselves and those watching at home, but given the fact that very little, if anything really, has changed between this time last year and now, that optimism feels entirely hollow.

Donald Trump played a large role in inciting last year’s insurrection but he did not invent white nationalism, conspiracy theories, violent misogyny, or anything else that led to that day’s events. And we as a country are still totally unprepared to address those issues as being foundational to our existence as a nation.

So at this moment in time, at this event in particular, celebrating a sweet little song about making the country better for future generations feels downright laughable.

(image: screencap)

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Image of Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.
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