The Boston Tea Party of 2009

I am not the most political person, and although I consider myself fairly Republican, I do have certain politics and causes that I support from both political parties. My father, on the other hand, is extremely Republican while I have many friends who are as far left and more, as my father is right. All of these people have opened my eyes to different ideas and beliefs that lead me to believe that I am a fairly open-minded person.

Oftentimes, however, when I do share my thoughts and beliefs about politics, other people who claim to be open-minded have ridiculed me. This has happened more and more often as the country has become politically charged and our government has come to a crossroads. This is the reason that I was pleasantly surprised when my husband, parents and I participated in one of the hundreds of tea parties that took place all over the country.

We parked downtown and walked through the sleet-turned-snow to stand in front of the Federal building in downtown Salt Lake City and made our way through the crowd, toward the front. This group of people was bundled in Utah winter style with their homemade signs slowly dripping color as the snow progressively affected the legibility of their signs. There were flags, picket signs, people who were dressed up and I even saw a paper machete piggy bank on a stick with a sign that saying, “Keep your hands out of my Piggy Bank!” held by a small child.

What I saw was a large group of very diverse people from all walks of life, both political parties and of all ages, from the very young to the very old. As I looked around, one of the signs that stood out from the others stated, “I am no longer Democrat, I was never Republican. I am an American.” That was the theme of the event. It does not matter what political party you belong to and what your feelings about smaller political issues are. What matters, is that we are taking a stand against excessive government spending and the expanding control of the Federal government.

As the many speakers paraded across the makeshift stage, this theme became more and more apparent, in addition to the feeling that America has become a gluttonous nation who lives outside of their means and with many who feel very entitled. In a recent meeting where self-reliance was encouraged, it was pointed out that when a person feels entitled, that merely means that they are greedy and lazy. I agree.

“Spread my work ethic, not my wealth,” another sign demonstrated this feeling perfectly.

When did we become a country based on credit and laziness as opposed to hard work? Is this what all of our ancestors throughout the generation have fought hard and lost their lives for? I know that they wanted to create a better life for their children and their children’s children, but did they know that their lives would be used to support a lethargic nation who manufactures money to bail people out of bad business? I don’t think so.

On that note, I am greatly disturbed that the government is now deciding which of the large companies will survive this economic downturn, not the ever-changing marketplace. This is disturbingly similar to the East India Tea Company, who was, “too big to fail.” Sound familiar? This very cause was the reason for the original Boston Tea Party. Now our own government attempts the very offense that sounded a call to action against the English government by handing out “free money.” I was not a supporter of President Bush handing out free money and now President Obama incurs more debt than all past presidents combined in one fell swoop; TRILLIONS of dollars that the United States does NOT have. Doesn’t that scare you?

Yet we have become complacent. We have become that silent majority. We feel that sending our representative to Washington D.C. is enough. In recent years we have thought of those who protested to make their point as the small special interest groups who want to further their own causes in lieu of the majority’s interest. That is no longer. We do not have that luxury, as we watch the government begin to close in on our rights, and infringe upon our economic marketplace. Washington D.C. is trying to make us like every other nation that we have fought so hard to set ourselves apart from. The Federal government wants control.

This control is why the Constitution was created. This is why we are the United STATES of America. Our government was set up as a series of checks and balances so that no single government entity, federal or state, would have dominant power…unless we let them take it. As was pointed out by one of the many different speakers, “the constitution was not created to regulate the people. We have laws for that. The Constitution was created to keep our government in check.”

So, what I saw while standing in the snow, my toes numb and trying to hold my umbrella so as not to disrupt the view of those behind me, was a well organized, logical, passionate call to action, much like the Boston Tea Party of 1773, stating that the government does not employ us, we employ them. It’s time that they are reminded of this and that we act as a responsible board of directors.

As the end of the protest neared, our flags were raised, as we ended together by singing “God Bless America,” some with tears in their eyes. There we stood, a group of people who still believe in the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”