Behind the Times

While most people watched the HBO miniseries "John Adams" four years ago -- or read the book by David McCullough on which it is based -- I'm just now catching the show. While I marvel at Paul Giamatti's portrayal of Adams, "the forgotten founder," and at the philosophical conversations between Adams, Jefferson and Franklin, what strikes me most about the series is how difficult life was 200-plus years ago.

Fire, pestilence, perilous travel -- these people were not coddled. To what extent did the circumstances of our ancestors' lives forge in them the character and ardor to build a nation? Life then was shorter, harder, more intense. I feel fat and shallow in comparison.