WWAHD?

My roommate took this photo after a flash protest in NYC last Sunday. This photo was taken in front of Alexander Hamilton's grave at Trinity Cemetery.

By now it should come as no secret to anyone how much I admire Alexander Hamilton.

And lately, my life has been moving at a very fast pace full of ups (getting asked out on a date! giant creative project!) and downs (death of a mentor! politics!). And - as many of you may have realised, especially those who have read a lot of this blog - I'm a very anxious person. I do not like unknowns or change, and in dark moments I am tempted to allow my fear and anxiety to paralyse me.

Lately, with all these big changes and opportunities, I have at times been fearful and anxious. And though it started half-jokingly, I began asking myself when opportunities (whether for creative projects or political activism or even just accepting a date from a girl I hardly know) arose, 5 simple words:

"What Would Alexander Hamilton Do?"

Make fun of me if you wish. I agree, it is somewhat ridiculous. It's also helped me to become more courageous in the past week than I ever have been in my life.

I'm sure Alexander Hamilton got scared sometimes. He must have been fucking terrified on the ship over to the 13 colonies, or during the Revolutionary War and the winter at Valley Forge. There very well may have been moments when he considered just giving up. (He did once write John Laurens "I hate Congress—I hate the army—I hate the world—I hate myself.")

You know what else he did? He stood up for what he believed in. He wrote passionately about his beliefs whether they were popular (or legal) or not. He gave a lengthy speech on the steps of King's College to stave off a mob. He stole British artillery cannons and distinguished himself as he fought hard in the Revolution.

When opportunities came flying at his face at a breakneck pace, Hamilton did not back down. Hamilton seized them by the balls and ran with them. Hamilton looked fear in the face and told it "not today, motherfucker".

And that's what I'm aiming to do lately, too. 

I like to think he'd be proud of the protests that have been happening lately, to know the legacy of himself and his revolutionary brethren has not been forgotten. I like to think he'd be honoured that protestors were offering him their signs and thinking of him. And I know that if he were alive today, he'd be on our side. The man, for all his flaws, was not a fan of tyrants.

"When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical, the people have no choice but to exercise their original right of self-defense — to fight the government." ~ Alexander Hamilton

So if it helps you to do so as it's helped me, whether for purposes of political activism or just because you got a romance or career offer you weren't expecting, ask yourself:

"What would Alexander Hamilton do?"

And then do that!

~Nym