Posted by
John Crutchfield on Thursday, April 23, 2009 8:29:44 AM
As Pastor Bruce and I boarded the train for Beantown on April 15th, we walked past a young family of four creating posters for the TEA Party. The sight of a mother, father and two children exercising their most basic and precious of freedoms was inspiring and rekindled in me a sense of hope. There, in that moment, a family enjoyed the liberties our Forefathers paid so dearly for - the right to free speech and to peaceably assemble. And who knows what will come of it? Perhaps sometime in the future, those young Americans will look back on the day that changed the course of our country. Or perhaps they will find themselves on a federal watch list along with hundreds of thousands of other "right wing extremists".
Those right wing extremists are concerned about the direction this country has taken - and with good cause. From redistributing wealth, to seeking control over the "free" market, this president drives the dagger of oppression deeper into the heart of capitalism.
In less than one hundred days of the Obama administration, average citizens of every stripe have been targeted as potential enemies of the state, including soldiers returning from Iraq and Afganistan. This probably plays well in San Francisco, but not middle America. One would think that a rational solution to the so called problem of unrest might be to listen to the voices of those who feel disenfranchised and work to find common ground. No, instead, this president labors to force feed us his socialist agenda even if he has to silence the opposition to do so. Obama is determined to outlaw dissent and he has the MSM on his side.
The confronation one TEA attendee had with a CNN reporter, in another city, was very telling. After cutting off the man's response, the "reporter" snidely asked if he was aware that he was eligible for a $400 tax credit. Don't you just wish that interview ended just a little different? Wouldn't it be nice if the guy said he wouldn't sell out his country for $400? Or how about this one? "The government gives me $400 and gives my grandchildren a bill for $400B!"
There is something insidious about a government that fears its citizens. Our government realizes it's power by the "consent of the governed". Politicians from both major parties seem to have forgotten that and need to be reminded that they work for us, we don't work for them. When public servants become the ruling class in fear of losing it's grip on power, the republic is in trouble. And we are in trouble - with big brother threatening to reinstate the fairness doctrine and incorporate other schemes to shut people up.
Our right to speak up is is being threatened, but the events of April 15th are encouraging. As the body ages, exercise is vital to good health. So it is with our freedom. By exercising our rights to protest, we bring the fight out of the dark alley and into the light of day. We expose the shady, thug methodology of those who truly are enemies of the state and freedom.
The Boston crowd was reported to be around four hundred or so, but I'm sure it was much more than that if you consider that some had to leave early or couldn't arrive until later. And let's not forget the majority of capitalists couldn't miss work because they need, well, capital. Local radio talk show host, Michael Graham hosted an event later in the day on the Boston waterfront that drew hundreds of participants and the MSM was AWOL for most of it.
Though hampered by a poor PA system at the Common, one didn't need to hear a word to understand the collective sentiment. The gathering at the Boston Public Gardens shared a common view of our current situation with hundreds of thousands of others around our great country. Government has gotten too big for our wallets. Whether it be local, state or federal, governments at all levels have proven to have a rapacious, insatiable appetite for power and our hard earned cash.
Look, no one wants to see anyone get hurt. We know people with jobs in the public sector have families that need to be taken care of. But, we also know there are many political hacks that our politicians are taking care of at our expense and the worst thing is, they seem to think their positions are recession-proof. Gov. Patrick recently hired one of his cronies to fill an obscure position that hadn't been filled in twelve years. How would you like a job with no staff and nothing to do for $175K per year? Once the word got out, the hack had the good sense to quit. All this while Patrick talks of raising the gas tax by nineteen cents per gallon!
Many of us in the private sector have seen our own incomes drop considerably in the last couple of years, if we're lucky enough to still have a job, and the last thing we need is to get hammered again with another gas tax or toll increase or whatever other excuse the powers that be can dream up to save the jobs of their political pals. These assemblies of concerned citizens labored to send a message that maybe it's time for government to have a little compassion for those of us who actually pay the bill.
All in all, it was a very uplifting day being with a large number of like-minded people for a change. I even had the great pleasure of meeting fellow TH Blogger, MJSJR of MA. Nice to meet you Mike. You are a true patriot, unlike those who are doing everything in their power as fast as possible to destroy the greatest country in the history of the world. Mr. Obama has overseen the largest debt increase this nation has ever known. Some say he's accrued more national debt than all of his predecessors combined! Maybe its time for liberals to reconsider their position on abortion. We're going to need all the people we can get to pay it off.