Tea Parties

While I am nearly old enough to remember the original Tea Party I must confess that I have yet to attend one: then or now. It is not that I don’t care or that I think it wouldn’t matter it is that I just didn’t know. Since ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse I suppose my ignorance is unacceptable as well. Still, my ignorance is all that I have.

Even in my ignorance there are some things I do know. I know that you cannot spend money that you don’t have and not have consequences down the road. I have lived long enough to see what happened when I or the government did that very thing. For me personally it resulted in bad credit and bills I couldn’t pay and for the government… actually it was exactly the same. The government had one big advantage over me: anonymity. They are like the proverbial “They”. “They” said that you cannot… “They” said we won’t. Voicing an opinion to the “Government” is about as effective as trying to figure out who “They” are.

The Tea Parties have had a similar effect to date. After the first round of them Obama and others in his administration made fun of them. He called them tea baggers and laughed them off without pause. He saw them as instruments of the conservative media and not as citizens. Actually, if you watch the president carefully he only has 2 ways of responding to those with whom he disagrees: He scoffs at them or he dominates them. He really doesn’t play well with others.

Anyway, I hope to make the next Tea Party even if it is in Washington. It would be very hard for the mainstream media and the Whitehouse to ignore thousands of protesters. Still, as for Obama, I will bet he makes plans to be in Luxembourg, Palau, or perhaps a place with nice beaches and great hotels. Still. I will be there with teabags in hand. I may even dress as a teabag.