My Rewatch of Hamilton
And Some Broad Generalizations and Opinions About Politics
Stacey Mellus | June 30, 2025
Recently, I rewatched “Hamilton” with my 10 year old daughter; the music has been very popular, and she finally showed an interest in watching the recorded version on Disney+. She’s a smart kid, but there were quite a few things that were over her head, and I found myself dredging up a lot of my own decades old understanding of the historical period to try to explain things, like the Boston Tea Party, and other references. It was eye opening to watch it with her and have my commentary going, but also to apply it to the politics of today.
Spoiler alert, I am going to make a lot of broad generalizations here. I don’t intend to get into the historical accuracy of the musical; it’s a piece of art that takes creative liberties. What I will be doing is applying some overarching themes of “Hamilton” to some of the overarching things I’m seeing in Democratic politics now in 2025.
Alexander Hamilton was willing to work his way up
By no means was Hamilton born to wealth; he was an orphan from the Caribbean, and he was a hard worker. He was of the people, and was willing to work his way up through the ranks. He was smart, and he became George Washington’s right hand man, which many would have wanted to stick with to keep themselves off the front lines, but Alexander didn't. He wanted to be in the field, and be in the thick of battle. He wanted to lead. He wasn’t worried about his job, or his position, he wanted to make a difference and fight. It could literally have gotten him killed, but that’s how strongly he felt about his ideals, and the fight against the British Army.
This is the type of person that we should all want to see in public office, someone who would lay down their life in pursuit of their ideals. Someone who doesn’t care simply about staying in office, but is willing to go out and join the people on the proverbial battlefield.
Aaron Burr versus Alexander Hamilton’s style
Aaron Burr’s signature line in the film is “talk less, smile more” as his approach to being well liked and having success in politics and business. He believes that not standing up and speaking out is the key to what’s going to get him further along in his goals. He rides the middle of the road at all times, and never comes in with a strong stance on issues. He gives this advice to Hamilton who takes a starkly different approach, being willing to stand on soapboxes and argue in the town square with those who don’t hold his opinion. He writes essays that don’t follow the mainstream, and he finds himself both admired and admonished.
I find that today, many of our politicians, especially on the Democratic side, find themselves taking the “talk less, smile more” tack rather than speaking out to share their fundamental ideals. The 24 hour news cycle and social media might be causing them fear of backlash, and that fear of backlash keeps them on the sidelines. They are more worried about keeping their jobs than fighting for any issues that they may believe in. Issues that are important to the public, and we want to know how they really feel.
Alexander Hamilton was a constantly in motion change maker
There’s no question that Alexander Hamilton was a change maker - he was someone who shook things up, he brought new ideas to the table that many people thought were downright insane. He made friends; he made enemies. Some people hated the way he could get the ear of important leaders, some people thought he was too outspoken, some people just didn’t like him personally. Some people thought his ideas were genius. He essentially invented our current banking and credit system that brought credibility to America around the world.
That said, he was also shrewd, he did not “not care” about the reactions of others, but instead worked to broker outcomes that allowed for some of the ideas that came to fruition. His outspoken nature may have annoyed some, but his tenacity with those same people put him in the “room where it happens.” That elusive place that discussions were had, and deals were struck, but Aaron Burr found himself left out of because of his unwavering middle of the road stances.
Our current leaders in the Democratic Party need to be doing the same, speaking loudly with ideas that they are actually passionate about. Pushing themselves on the people who can make deals with them, or getting the people behind those ideas like Hamilton did with the federalist papers to drum up support for the Constitution. They say Hamilton was working and writing like he was “running out of time.” Where are today’s leaders that are that dedicated and prolific? Where are the Democratic versions of today’s Federalist Papers? Maybe they would be podcasts, or something new, but we need to change and adapt, and we need that feel of constant momentum.
Alexander Hamilton was willing to destroy himself
Alexander Hamilton was not a perfect person, he married partly for wealth, and he had an affair that got him entangled in a husband and wife’s extortion scheme. When other members of his community discovered strange financial transactions in his records, including Aaron Burr who also had an affair and child with a married woman, and thought he was stealing government money, they confronted him. He had the receipts, he wasn’t embezzling, but paying for the extortion. Hamilton knew at this point that rumors would swirl, no matter what. So rather than let that happen, he wrote an essay exposing himself for his misdeeds that damaged his professional and personal reputation. He was so committed to being the one to tell the story that he nearly destroyed his own marriage beyond repair.
I can’t see any of today’s politicians doing this, including anyone from the Democratic Party. For me this speaks to the importance of telling your own story on your terms. Too often, our candidates are so fearful of consequences by the media, or retribution by other candidates that they don’t go out and tell their own truth. They are allowing others to control the narrative about them by not controlling it themselves. An offhand comment about supporting an issue can sink you if you don’t go out there and explain yourself. This isn’t a politics specific problem, this is human nature; rumors spread and perception can become what many think is the reality. For instance, the idea that Democrats run strictly on “identity politics” is a media and Republican manufactured phenomenon, but if we don’t fight back by talking about it, then we lose that narrative.
Where do we go now? Does the Democratic Party want to make change?
Aaron Burr’s inability to move forward was shown as a side effect of him speaking up less, working less hard, and not being committed to any specific issues. This led him down a path of frustration, anger, and jealousy that ultimately led him to challenging his perceived rival to a duel and shooting him dead.
Where’s the parallel in today’s Democratic party, you ask?
We regular Democratic voters are watching so many members of the Democratic party sit back and “talk less, smile more.” I find myself shaking my fist at the television as I watch the news, and exclaiming that things are lies, and why isn’t anyone speaking up? Where are they?
And we, the Democrats, are the ones getting frustrated, angry, and jealous. Jealous of a Republican party that can say pretty much anything, can behave pretty much however they want, and seemingly never pay any consequences. A Republican party that has a prolific media structure behind it and pumps out content and information that people want to consume at a rapid, almost constant pace.
We are starting to feel like the mountain has become too hard to climb to make a difference now. Some of us are out here shouting into the world, but the change comes slowly, if it comes at all. We need more figures that are working and writing and speaking like they’re “running out of time.” The situation is urgent, the consequences are dire. I call on our Democratic leaders to stand up, stand out, and stop worrying about being well liked. Fight for your ideals, loudly and often. Don’t let us not see you, we want to see you, we need you to rally us, we need you to guide us. Be everywhere. Be talking to the press. Be talking on social media. Most importantly, be talking to your people, the ones you represent. Understand what we want and need from you and tell our story.