I’m going to be unfair. Let’s just address this up front. I plan to use the thoughts from a small segment of a small population to make my point. But I don’t think this will make my point any less valid, because whether or not they represent the whole group, the people still said it.
So I have been watching coverage of this Tea Party shit. First of all how gay is that? These people couldn’t think of their own idea, so they had to leech off of our history? And they aren’t the only ones! The Governor of Texas was talking about his states succession from the union. Been there, done that, circa 1860-1865. Only it was a bunch of other states’ idea first.
What is it with all the remakes lately? Transformers, GI Joe, there is even a Red Dawn remake in the works! Come on people where are the original ideas anymore?
Anyway that is getting me off my point. The point is, that I was listening to live interviews of people at these Tea Bagging’s, and kept hearing the same answer to the same question. It would go someting like this:
Q: “So why are you here protesting today?”
A: “Because we don’t think we should be taxed.”
Admittedly, this is a simplistic account reflecting a conglomeration of different statements that all seemed to fit, in some way, this basic statement.
My issue with this is in the event’s conception. If you are going to call your events Tea Parties, in an effort to ally your position with that of one of the greatest showing of populous uprisings in our nation’s history, you should at least understand what the original was about.
The original Tea Party wasn’t simply about a bunch of people who didn’t want to pay there taxes. They were willing to pay their taxes, they just wanted equal representation. They didn’t want to be taxed by a bunch of English people that didn’t understand the first thing about what was going on in their country. Thus the phrase, No Taxation Without Representation. That’s what the Boston Tea Party was all about.
So when you have a representative government of politicians elected by us. Doesn’t it seem a bit disingenuous and perhaps even insulting to the original event to call what happened yesterday Tea Parties? Especially when I got the feeling most of the people I saw interviewed didn’t even understand what the original was about.
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for protesting the things you find unjust in the world, especially within our democracy. While I don’t support the motivation behind yesterdays demonstrations, I fully support their efforts to peacefully protest what they think is wrong in America. But don’t steal another persons idea and pass off your bastardized version of it as something unique.
With all that said here is my view on taxes. I like roads. I like having police. I like having public schools. I like having a standing army. If the government needs more of my money to ensure I have these things. I’m cool with that.
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