AMC has been taking a chance with an imaginative engaging show the last few years. The show is called ‘TURИ: Washington’s Spies’.

The show  started with 1776 and 1777, a Setauket, New York farmer and his childhood friends form an unlikely group of spies, called theCulper Ring, which eventually helps to turn the tide during the American Revolutionary War.The series begins in October 1776, shortly after British victories recapture Long Island, Staten Island, and New York City for the Crown and leave General George Washington‘s army in dire straits.

The first episode’s introductory card titles read: “Autumn 1776. Insurgents have declared war against the Crown. Following a successful naval landing, His Majesty’s Army has forced Washington’s rebels into the wilderness. New York City serves as military base of operations for the British. The Loyalists of nearby Long Island keep vigilant watch out for sympathizers, and spies.”

The show is just great! Here are three reasons why the show is needed and must continue.

1. You need to understand the history of our society.How can we begin to understand society today without understanding what created it?T he events and people that shaped who we are today  as America are incredibly important. They help to shape our reasoning and help to change the world at hand. History gives us the opportunity to see how daily life has changed over the years, and what goes into the fostering that change.Without history, a society shares no common memory of where it has been, what its core values are, or what decisions of the past account for present circumstances. Without history, we cannot undertake any sensible inquiry into the political, social, or moral issues in society. And without historical knowledge and inquiry, we cannot achieve the informed, discriminating citizenship essential to effective participation in the democratic processes of governance and the fulfillment for all our citizens of the nation’s democratic ideals.
2. The show inspires you. At this trying time in our country’s history we need the inspiration to know what and how  those who came before us had worked their hardest for a better life. They knew it would be hard.By studying the choices and decisions of the past, we can confront today’s problems and choices with a deeper awareness of the alternatives before us and the likely consequences of each. You realize how many people served and why they served. You see it from an earthy prospective.  You can think and talk about what you are doing to change your world and how you are doing it. You also understand that much is expected in freedom. Griping and complaining does not get you anything in a world that cab be harsh. 

   

3. It encourages thoughts about your civic duty. Historical understanding does not require approval or forgiveness for the tragedies either of one’s own society or of others; nor does it negate the importance of critically examining alternative value systems and their effects in supporting or denying the basic human rights and aspirations of all their peoples. It stresses how important, an understanding of the history of the many cultures that  contributed to fostering the kind of mutual patience, respect, and civic courage required in our increasingly pluralistic society and our increasingly interdependent world. Watching how the Quakers helped shape the tone of civility is amazing.

If our children and new citizens  are to see ahead more clearly, and be ready to act with judgment and with respect for the shared humanity of all who will be touched by the decisions they as citizens make, support, or simply acquiesce in, then schools and media must attend to creating entertainment  that inspires and challenges us.

That is the reason why Broadway’s ‘Hamilton’ has been such a success. We are telling the story of who lived and who died and who have all. These are the important things that we need. This show is more than entertainment. It is something that we need. No where on television can we find the depth of discussion.

We don’t need dragons, witches, demons or zombies. We need to tell the stories of our founding fathers more than on the 4th of July. If we do not, than the story that is us will fade and we will have nothing left to hold on to.

Denied knowledge of one’s roots and of one’s place in the great stream of human history, the individual is deprived of the fullest sense of self and of that sense of shared community on which one’s fullest personal development as well as responsible citizenship depends.

#RENEWTURN and teach the world that it is more than just goodbyes.