Why
I Became a Tea Party Activist
A few months ago I was asked to help someone with a paper they were writing by answering
a questionnaire as to why I became a Tea Party activist. I was glad to help
& it also helped me to crystallize how I got to where I am today. You may
find it beneficial to go through the exercise for yourself.
IDENITY
How do you identify politically? Why do you label
yourself this way? What labels do you NOT identify with that others might use
for you?
I self identify as a Libertarian/Conservative. I hold mostly Libertarian views,
believing government's only legitimate role is spelled out in the Declaration
of Independence to secure our rights to Life, Liberty & Property. Where I
differ from the pure Libertarian philosophy is on a very few areas such as
Drugs, where I find inherent evil & think they should be kept illegal. I
realize this is imposing my morality on others & I cringe at the thought,
but I've seen the destruction drugs can cause & find nothing redeeming
about them, so I want them kept illegal. The media & the Left have tried to
paint us Tea Partiers as right-wing, racist, extremist radicals, when nothing
could be further from the truth.
Who and what influenced you to become an activist?
I've always been against the ever expanding government & destruction of our
individual rights that's been taking place in our country for a very long time.
What got me up off the couch & into the streets was the unprecedented
reckless spending & unparalleled radical destructive policies of the last
10 months. After reading Mark Levin's Liberty & Tyranny, I couldn't just
throw things at the TV anymore. I had to do what ever I could to preserve what
freedoms we have left, for the sake of my children's future.
Do you see yourself as part of (or influenced by) any historical or political
traditions/movements? Why?
I'm a student of the founders, having read the Constitution, Federalist Papers,
writings by Madison, Jefferson & Adams. I've also read their influencers,
Adam Smith, John Locke & Montesquieu. More recently, I love Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged is a powerful influence. These
are the traditions I believe in - Individual Rights & Individual
Responsibilities. As to the movement, I think the fact that I consider myself a
Tea Partyist says it all.
How do you stay informed about current events? What influences your choice
of media outlets?
Internet, Blogs, video, radio & minimal TV.
There's no point in watching the Government-contolled
big media - they're just selling the government agenda. Occasionally I tune in
just to see what the enemy is up to. The only place to get the real story is
online.
RECENT HISTORY
What do you personally consider to be the defining
events/moments of the last decade? What was your personal involvement with or
reaction to these events?
Obviously 9/11 was the single biggest event in the last decade. Unfortunately,
due to the country's lack of leadership at this critical time, instead of
mobilizing us to confront our self-appointed mortal enemies, we were told to go
shopping. Instead of doing whatever it took to become energy self-sufficient
& make the oil in the
What was your reaction to the events of September 11th? How do you feel
about them now?
Aside from the above comments, I see it as a wake-up call. Prior to 9/11, we
were able to delude ourselves that we were safe in the
How did you feel about Pres. Bush while he was in office? How do you feel
about him/that time period now?
When first elected, he seemed like a spoiled little rich kid who got in because
his daddy paid off the right people. There really was no choice but to vote for
him since Al Gore & then John Kerry were major Liberal idiots. Right after
9/11 I supported him. I supported
How did you feel about Pres. Obama during the 2008 election season? How do
you feel about him/this time period now?
When I first heard him speak, I was intrigued. Here was a bright articulate guy
who could be the leader I felt the country has needed since 9/11. Once I scratched
the surface even a little bit, his extreme leftist voting record & all his
radical associations became known, so I obviously turned more & more
against him. His true intentions of fundamentally changing this country by
re-distributing the wealth from those who produce it to those who need it,
(right out of the Communist Manifesto), became crystal clear from the Joe the
Plumber incident. Now I find that he's even worse than I had feared. He's on
the wrong side of every issue, foreign & domestic & I fear he's
destroying this country intentionally. Everything he does is right out of Saul Alinsky's Rules For Radicals.
AMERICAN HISTORY
What events/moments in American history mean
the most to you? Why?
The founding. Never before in human
history had a country been founded on the concept that the Individual was the
sovereign & that the government was there to serve us. With all it's
faults, (and the American system is clearly imperfect), a society based on
freedom & equal opportunity led to the greatest standard of living &
explosion of technology that humanity has ever experienced.
How do you feel your personal history relates to American history? Does your
story (or your ancestors' story) illustrate themes of American history?
My father wasn't born in this country. My family embodies the American dream.
They came here in 1929, just in time for the Depression. My grandfather died in
1934, leaving my grandmother in the lower East Side of Manhattan with 4 kids,
(my father was the eldest at 10). They went days without eating. They worked
hard. My father did odd jobs. My grandmother took in sewing, etc., somehow they
made it without ever giving a thought that anyone owed them food or housing or
healthcare. The kids went to school - Education was paramount, & they grew
up to be successful. My family's story is the same as every generation of
immigrants to
What did you learn about American history from school? From the media? From your friends and
family?
I was taught the traditional European-centric view of American history from the
Pilgrims through the Revolution through WWI & II in school in the 60's.
Media pretty much echoed this view. The media view started changing with the
How do you think liberals view American history?
They feel guilty for
What do you consider the successes of
The greatest success of
TEA PARTY / 9-12 MOVEMENT
How did you become involved in the Tea Party / 9-12
movement?
I went to Mark Levin's book signing for Liberty & Tyranny in March. The
place was a mob scene. 6,000 people showed up at a tiny bookstore in a sleepy
little town of
How would you characterize the Tea Party / 9-12 movement? Describe who you
think the typical tea party activist is.
Most of the people I know are like me - people who've never been politically
active before, but have become gravely concerned about the direction in which
our country is headed. We feel compelled to do whatever we can to stop the relentless
march to Socialism to try & preserve what freedoms we have left, for our
posterity. We see ourselves as patriots, fighting against a creeping
soft-tyranny, much as our forefathers fought the British over 230 years ago.
They fought against taxation without representation. Our leaders don't
represent us & are taxing us into oblivion.
How do you feel the movement has been characterized in the media? Is this
accurate or inaccurate, and why?
The media paints us as right-wing racists, who are against Obama because he's
black. Although groups like ours on both the left & the right,
naturally attract kooks, we shun them & want no part of them. Interestingly
enough, I feel it's the leftists who are racists. Look back at the campaign.
Who brought in race & said we'd be against him because he didn't look like
us? Obama, not us. Who consistently says that anyone
that's against Health Care, etc, is racist? The media &
the liberal politicians & celebrities. We're against the man's
policies, not his race. If the Ku Klux Klan & every white supremicist group got together to devise a plan to
subjugate those of color, they couldn't come up with a better one than the
course the current administration is following. Make people dependent on the
government & you've made a slave. Give them a job & the self respect
& self determination that engenders, & you've created an empowered
citizen.
What effect do you think the movement has so far had on American politics?
So far, we've had limited but growing success. We were able to slow down the
Health care debacle, which Obama wanted passed before Congress had their August
recess, for fear of what they would hear from their constituents when they went
back to their districts. Through the town hall frenzy & other strategies,
we've made previously untouchable incumbents weak & vulnerable - a strategy
that should yield results in 2010. We've organized the previously silent
majority & awakened a sleeping giant, and this can hopefully have far
reaching effects in the years to come. Most of us were too busy working hard
& providing for our families to be involved before. We've taken our
freedoms for granted. No more. We're energized & prepared to fight for our
country. We've got no choice.
What impact do you see the tea party movement having in the next year? by the 2010/2012 election cycle? ten
years from now?
I think I answered this question with my previous response.
