So I was watching the tea baggers (snicker) that attended the rallies that Glenn Beck and Rush L said they should attend. The obvious questions for me were:
1) What are you protesting?
2) Are you really affected at all?
3) Why is this more important than wars and torture?
#’s 1 and 3 go hand in hand. I suppose many of them are objecting to the massive amounts of spending that our government is undertaking. I agree with that part. I think digging a deeper whole is not the way to get out. I understand the theory of what they are trying to do, generate growth so that growth can fuel the new welfare programs. I don’ think it will work, but time will tell.
So, in reality, most of us are not being taxed and thus these “tea parties” don’t make sense. If the government said all people making between 40k and 90k were going to see an increase in taxes, I would understand since that would cover about 70% of the population. But that is not what has happened. Those people are seeing decreases in tax. You have to make over $250,000 to see an increase and even then it is a modest one. So…what’s the problem?
Let’s not forget who started this mess. The head in the sand admin of the past 8 years. The rubber stamp and ineffective congress. The bailing out of failed business (W’s idea) a huge cluster fudge in the middle east that is draining our resources, these are what got us in the mess we are in today.
Finally, where were these peoples’ outrage when it was discovered we were sent to war under false pretenses? Why weren’t these same people marching on Washington when it was discovered we were torturing other human beings and getting *NO* usable information? Do you think it’s because their TV and radio opinion generators thought those things were ok?
I watched these “protests” with a little humor and a bit of sadness. At some point, hopefully, people will realize what is truly important and we cans start making a difference in the world. But I won’t hold my breath.