Tea Party: What's The Uproar About?

I had to go to Slidell, Louisiana about two weeks ago. I decided to take the scenic route which meant taking Hwy 90 from Mobile, AL. If you live on the gulf coast, it's not nearly as quick as taking I-10. But, you miss out on a lot of nice little out of the way shops, sights and sounds and locals. After a day in Slidell, I left the next morning, once again, on Hwy 90. As I was about five miles from a little town in Mississippi, I noticed a sign that stated, "Tea Party Rally at 1PM." I looked at my clock and saw it was 11:30AM. I decided since I was not in a hurry to get home, I would take a look at all the controversy surrounding this political movement. I was expecting, maybe, 50-100 people since it was a Friday afternoon. I was in for a surprise.

I went to the designated area and could not find a parking space! It was wall to wall people at what is usually the lunch hour for most people. Police were directing traffic due to the tie ups. I finally found a place to park...about a half-mile from the staging area. I could not believe the people there at this time of day! The event itself got started almost half an hour late because of the multitude of people that were still streaming in to the Tea Party event. As I found a spot to stand (standing room only at this point), there were speakers who stated they were not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. In fact, both parties got thoroughly blasted by the different speakers. They spoke a lot about the constitutionality of "Obamacare," the national deficit, politicians of both parties who were not listening to the American people, high taxes without representation, worries about our southern border and our turning away from capitalism to socialism. The crowd cheered their every word. They were enthusiastic, they were involved, they were exercising their constitutional right of freedom to assembly. All in all, it lasted about 75 minutes. I asked one policeman if he could give a crowd estimate (since I am so lousy at it), and he said between 2000-2500. Again, remember this about lunch time on a Friday afternoon. In a very small town. Think about that.

Now, the Keith Olbermans and Chris Matthews of the world have demonized these Americans as racists, KKK, terrorists, astroturf, a mob, and a multitude of adjectives I have not heard before, from network news and politicians, in my life. I looked at these people (look at the people in that pic above), I saw old ladies in their 70s and 80s. There were people with their work uniforms on indicating they are plumbers or electricians, carpenters, salesmen and so on. Some looked like they stepped from the offices of a bank. I saw about a dozen African-Americans, half a dozen of Hispanic origin. The vast majority were white. I was taking all this in because of all I had heard about the Tea Party. They all expressed a fear that the federal government was taking over their lives, their very freedoms that Americans have paid the price for with their blood, sweat and tears. I heard no racial slurs about Obama (other than that he is probably a Muslim and/or a socialist). I heard no talk of a violent revolution to take down the federal government. They all talked about kicking out the people who voted for HealthCare Reform in the November mid-term elections. That was about as much "violence" as I heard.

Now, I am an independent. I have claimed no allegiance to any political party since 1992. My politics are center-right. On some issues I am far to the right, some issues I am hard left. I catch hell from both sides because I am usually somewhere in the middle on a lot of the issues. I say all this so you know where I'm coming from on this hub about the Tea Party. My opinion about the Tea Party is that we are witnessing the Democrats (and some Republicans as well), and the MSM trying to marginalize the Tea Party members. And, I think I know why.

Both parties, especially those on the left, are afraid of the Tea Party. When you hear Keith Olberman calling them derogatory names such as "lunch pail racists," he has already lost the debate. People frequently attack something or someone they don't understand. What I saw two weeks ago were Americans who are concerned about the direction this country is headed. They still have that right to do so. I share a lot of their concerns. I was a bit leery of the Tea Party because of all the attacks against them. I should have known better. Sure, I'm certain the Tea Party has extremists who will eventually cause them problems. Show me a political party that does not have extremists, especially in this country. You won't find one.

In closing, I believe we are focusing our worries on the wrong peoiple now. The Tea Party is a major force that is going to be reckoned with in the months and years to come. If the Democrats and Republicans don't see that right now, they do so at their own political peril. What we should be focusing on are the people who are attacking the Tea Party. People like Keith Olberman, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and, yes, President Obama. What are their objectives in trying to stiffle the constitutional rights of these free Americans? I say focus on that issue because that is where the real danger is in this country right now.