Everyone here knows who the first president of the United States was? George Washington. Does anyone here know who the second president of the United States was? John Adams. Very good. Anyone know who the third president of the United States was? Thomas Jefferson. Very good.
What you may not know is that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson hated each other. We always think that the Founding Fathers sat together, had tea, and we all got along. That is not what happened. They hated each other. They were always at each other's necks, talking about each other, making fun of each other, upset at each other, jealous of each other.
This story happened on the 50th anniversary of the United States of America, July 4th, 1826. On July 4th, 1826, John Adams was lying on his deathbed, and within minutes, he would pass away. The last three words he said in frustration were, “Jefferson still lives.” I can't believe that I'm dying before he is. Jefferson still lives. Sir, you're dying. Just die in peace. Do what you got to do.
And you know what's crazy? What he didn't know was that three hours earlier, Jefferson had died. It's interesting, by the way, that the second and third presidents of the United States both died on July 4th, 50 years after the country began. I'm giving you a better history lesson than in school, but are we? Is this for real? These are people that every American looks up to, the Founding Fathers. Ke'ilu (like) they're the Founding Fathers, like they are the most important people. And we are.
The truth is, I happen to like that period of American history. And I do think it's very interesting. But they were petty people too. You were president and you were president. Can you let it go? You're on your deathbed. It is what it is. The last three words you say are some line of jealousy. And it's not even true. Are we really having this conversation? It literally steals us, robs us of our energy and our economy.