Already this morning the sun is blazing in a mostly blue sky and the temperature at my little abode is already above the freezing range. The weather gal on Channel Six indicates, however, some clouds will begin to move in and we could see some overnight precipitation in some form. Nice weather will return tomorrow and again, there are no major storms in sight. This will be another good day heading into the holiday weekend.
It’ll be fascinating to see next Wednesday just how successful the Tea Parties taking place all across the country will be. Several groups, primarily Republican dominated, have called for Americans to attend a Tea Party near them. These parties are symbolic pleas by ordinary Americans to governments at all levels to take some pity on them and end the ever increasing taxation. Included in the protest is an attempt to tell Congress and President Obama the trillion dollar spending package is too large.
The name, of course, comes from the Boston Tea Party back in 1773 when Bostonians disguised themselves as Indians and marched on the waterfront. There they boarded the English ships and dumped tea into Boston Harbor protesting a new tax being imposed by England. Many people consider the Boston Tea Party to be the beginning of the American Revolution.
I’m not sure that this year’s edition of the party is designed to begin a revolution, but they certainly will put out a message that we cannot stand for much more of our money being taken by the government. People in Maine are among the highest taxed people in America. I’d be surprised if some of the speakers didn’t mention our taxes in speeches at the various parties.
There are several scheduled in Maine and two of them will be in Portland. One will be on Munjoy Hill Wednesday afternoon and the other, sponsored primarily by the Republican Project, will be held Wednesday night on the Maine State Pier. Other than a possible tea bag or two being tossed into Casco Bay, I doubt much tea will actually be dumped.
The organizers of all the parties are calling for peaceful protests. They know that violence will only take away any effect the parties may have. There are some parties in the country that are even asking attendees not to bring signs. The goal of organizers, as I see it, is to bring attention to the plight of Mainers and other Americans throughout the nation to the increasing government spending and the growing amount of taxes needed to fund that spending to lawmakers at all levels of government.
I think it will take a huge number of people to send any message to government. A small turnout will only give the critters of government at all levels the excuse to say the protest was a failure and so the people really want more taxation so that more of the problems they are facing can be solved.
Many of the social programs which government fund began way back in the 1930s and 1940s. Several have been added under the leaderships of many presidents between then and now. These social programs were designed to end poverty, guarantee jobs, and ensure that every American could live the “American Dream.”
In the three-quarters of a century since they began, has poverty been eliminated no matter how many dollars we pour into programs? Are jobs guaranteed? Are all Americans living that dream? Of course the examples here are only three of many programs designed to make things better? Just how have they succeeded?
I certainly hope these tea party efforts do succeed. Somehow the ordinary citizen must convey to the governments that enough is enough. The do-all, be-all governments cannot continue. It won’t be long before there’s no one left to fund them. We need to return America to the America that is designed to be controlled by the Constitution and not by the socialist tendencies that is turning us into a very common nation.
You can find where a Tea Party will be held near you by Googling “tea party.” You can also get all the information you want using the same search.
GiM
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