Young Washington Movie Review (and reflecting on 250 years of American freedom with gratitude and hope)

 

I went to see the movie Young Washington in the theater with my family, and I loved it!

When I first learned about this movie, I wondered why they were releasing a movie that covered the French and Indian War, rather than the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, as we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of that this year. But after watching the movie, I understood why.

When most of us think of George Washington, we probably think of him as the first President of the United States or the general who led the Continental Army to victory against the British. But he didn’t start out as a president or a general, but as an ordinary boy. I loved how this movie showed that his experiences when he was young prepared him for the historic roles he would play later in his life. It showed how he learned from his mistakes and failures and how his character was forged.

I thought the movie did an excellent job in presenting George Washington in a very balanced way, neither falling into the error many people do these days when it comes to America’s founding fathers of focusing only on their flaws, nor falling into the opposite error some of us patriotic Americans might, of ignoring their imperfections and speaking only of their virtues. Because I do believe that George Washington and most of the other founding fathers did many great things and were good and noble men, but they were still human, and they weren’t perfect.

I love intense, action/adventure stories, and there was plenty of action, adventure, and intensity in this one! There was some moderate war violence, but it wasn’t nearly as bloody as some other PG-13 war movies I’ve seen. There were just a few mild curse words, some characters smoke and drink, and there’s just a little bit of romance (including a kiss between George Washington and a young woman who ends up marrying someone else at her father’s wishes for social reasons), but the movie steers clear of inappropriate content and was one my entire family enjoyed watching together.

The acting, cinematography, and overall look and feel of the movie were very well-done! I am so glad to be seeing more Christian movies that have top-notch film quality! The Christian themes in this movie were subtle, but well-done and fitting.

The main theme, and what I loved most about this movie, is that of providence. By providence, I mean how God is working things for our good, even when things are going badly, and we don’t understand why, how God uses our experiences to prepare us, and how He numbers our days. I’m not an expert on the French and Indian War, but from what I’ve read, this movie is mostly historically accurate, and my favorite part is how God providentially protected George Washington in the movie’s final battle.

One of my main takeaways from this movie is that America is worth celebrating and worth fighting for.

So, now, I’d like to end this review with some thoughts on America and her history.

I remember when I first studied the American Revolution and the story of the birth of this nation. I was eight years old, and my family was getting ready to go on a trip to the Northeast. We went to Mount Vernon, to Philadelphia, to Yorktown, to Williamsburg, to Valley Forge, to Washington, D.C. The highlights of the trip for me were Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home) and going to the National Archives in D.C. and seeing the Declaration of Independence.

Before the trip, Mama had us read about early American history for part of our homeschool. I devoured the stories of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, and others. And to this day, two of my favorite books that my mother read aloud to my closest sister and me are a biography of Abigail Adams and a biography of Benjamin Franklin.

I’ve always loved the story of America.

And I love celebrating the Fourth of July, a huge smile plastered on my face as I watch the fireworks explode like a thousand shooting stars in every color of the rainbow.

But as I got older, I realized not everyone does.

After I began to take my faith in Jesus more seriously, I devoured the stories of Christian heroes, many of whom were not Americans, and my writing research began to lead me to focus more on studying the history of other countries rather than American history.

An article from a source I greatly respected seemed to say that none of the founding fathers were Christians.

Christian authors and speakers whom I respected talked a lot about everything that was wrong with America. Some even said that America was under God’s judgment and talked about how things were only going to get worse.

But, here lately, I’ve been reminded of why I first fell in love with the story of America.

We’ve all heard the stories about how America is racist and prejudiced and how they’ve mistreated minority groups. My ancestors are mostly of Irish and German descent, and I have some Cherokee blood, too. And, yes, those people groups, and others, have faced discrimination at some points. But the truth is that that happens in every country. Prejudice is part of human nature. In every country throughout history, different people groups have been mistreated at different points in time. It’s not right, but it’s part of the effects of our sinful human natures.

And, honestly, I think America has done better than a lot of other countries. I’d also encourage you to not blindly believe everything you hear but to dive deep into the true history of America. But enough about that. I don’t have time to delve too far into all of that here.

What I want to say here is that we should be grateful.

I’ve come to the conclusion that when we do all this complaining about how terrible America is, we’re being ungrateful. I don’t mean that we should be untruthful and pretend America is perfect, but can we stop only focusing on the bad things and spend more time focusing on the good?

Were the founding fathers Christians? I believe some were and some weren’t. Some we can’t know for sure. But I do believe that they founded this country on Judeo-Christian principles. America was founded on the principles of liberty and justice, on the ideas that all people have rights given to them by God, and it is the government’s job to protect those rights, not infringe upon them.

When we bash America and her history, I believe we’re being very ungrateful and disrespectful to all the people who have sacrificed so that we could be here in this free country today. The signers of the Declaration risked their lives when they put pen to paper declaring that all men had a right to life and liberty. Throughout our history, our soldiers took up arms to defend our liberty. Mothers and fathers and grandparents raised their children to value God’s ways, and some of those children then became our leaders. Our ancestors left the countries they were born in and risked treacherous journeys across oceans so their children and grandchildren could have opportunities and freedom they didn’t have in their old country. Everyday Americans faithfully did their duty in whatever circumstances they were in, doing their part to keep the American dream alive by working hard and speaking the truth and voting for freedom.

They all believed that America was worth sacrificing for. And I think we should be grateful for their sacrifices.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from studying World War II history over the past several years as research for my historical fiction books, it’s that we have so much to be thankful for.

We have freedom of speech. We can freely share the truth and speak our beliefs.

We have freedom of religion. We can worship God according to our own consciences. Unlike so many Christians in other parts of the world today, we don’t have to fear prison or death for reading our Bibles or praying or gathering with other believers.

We can own our own property and build our own businesses and pursue our dreams.

And this country is beautiful. What other country has mountains, deserts, oceans, plains, rainforests, swamps, arctic cold, tropical heat, volcanoes, huge cities, and giant wildernesses, all in the same country?

Yes, I believe we should be grateful. We should give thanks for the incredible freedom and beauty we’ve been given.

My family and I really enjoyed watching the show All Creatures Great & Small this past year. It’s not perfect; there are a few things I would have done differently, but overall, I really liked it. There’s a scene in there that perfectly captures what I think.

The character Siegfried Farnon says that he was thinking of what Mrs. Hall says, that “we should be thankful for what we have.”

His brother Tristan agrees that we should be grateful, but he adds (pardon me if I’m not recalling his exact words correctly), “But we can’t just be grateful. We also have to fight for it.”

I don’t mean fighting with weapons, though I am grateful for those who defend our country in wartime.

I simply mean doing our duty in whatever station of life God has placed us in. Rather than saying, “America is doomed. What’s the point of trying to do anything?,” let’s do what we can to make it better. Let’s vote for the candidates who will support freedom and biblical values. No candidate will ever be perfect, but I believe it is our duty to vote for the best one who has a good chance of winning.

Let’s speak the truth. Let’s love the people God has put in front of us. Because to change policy in a country, you must first change the hearts of the people.

Let us be grateful for what we have, and let us fight for it.

Because I don’t believe for one moment that America is too far gone. I don’t believe we should claim that America is under God’s judgment and use that as an excuse to throw up our hands and not do our part to help keep this country great. Yes, there are some very bad things happening in our country today. When it’s accepted to end the lives of babies in the womb and for children to have their bodies mutilated in a vain attempt to change their gender, we do have a serious problem.

But I have so much hope for this country. Reading history gives me hope. Because there was a time when very few people saw any problem with slavery. And if public opinion could be changed regarding slavery, I believe it can also be changed regarding the evils of our own day.

And in recent months, I have seen so many good things happening in America! Bible sales and Bible reading have skyrocketed. More people–especially young people–are boldly speaking the truth than I’ve ever seen before. I believe we are seeing something of a revival–people are turning to God and seeing the truth on different issues.

So, instead of complaining about what’s wrong in America, let’s be grateful for what we have, and fight for what is good. Because as Sam Gamgee says in The Lord of the Rings, “there’s some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.”

And, yes, I do believe the United States of America is the greatest country in the world.

America has always been a beacon of light and hope and freedom to the world.

And that’s something worth celebrating.

---

All images in this post are stills from the Young Washington movie and taken from the press kit provided by Angel Studios.

Thanks for reading History Redeemed! Subscribe to get new posts delivered to your email inbox!