Have you heard the news and seen the pictures about the 9/12 project and tea party in Washington DC or around the country? Chances are you haven't unless you surf the Internet and/or watch Fox News. If you listen to "mainstream" media or the government, it was a small event - hardly worth a mention - with about 15,000 people in attendance (as opposed to the tens of thousands that did go). And did you know, the people in attendance were labelled as an angry mob, trailer trash, ignorant, wackos, Nazis, uninformed, right-wing extremists, stupid or racists? RACISTS?
I had two members of my family attend the march in DC and they fall under none of those labels listed above. Their label is "concerned American". We have pictures of families, children, grandparents, veterans, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, African-Americans, whites, Hispanics and many others from different cultures and backgrounds who are concerned about the spending AND policies of the government...not just Obama, but most of the people that make up our government today. And really, it's not only what is going on today, but what has been happening the past several years. It just so happens that the huge spending, broken promises and the current policies are the "straw that broke the camel's back". And it happens to be under Obama's watch...our first black president.
For the most part, government seems to be ignoring these concerned Americans, not taking the time to understand the problem or choosing to ignore what they hear. And, by calling these concerned Americans names, only serves to make them angrier. Why won't they listen? Because it doesn't fit in with their agenda?
I am a 40-something woman, married with two kids, a house, two cars and a dog, living in a small town in Ohio. I never paid much attention to politics or what was going on in Washington until this last presidential election. I don't believe we had a good choice of presidential candidates. I guess I thought that our government was looking out for our best interest, had our backs, and there was no reason to pay attention. Boy, was I wrong! As I understand it, there are more people out there just like me. They have had enough. With the economy the way it is, and the unemployment rate rising, the salaries of the government officials, the corruption that has been uncovered, the out-of-control spending, etc., they have had enough! Americans are angry and worried.
I am a concerned American. I am not a racist. Just because I speak out against the insane spending and policies of our government doesn't make me anything other than a concerned citizen. Seriously.
Marlana VanHoose
14 years ago
While I'm sure there are intelligent and well-meaning people attending these rallies, they are being drowned out by the idiots. Watch this video produced by two Wright State film students for some particularly shameful examples of willful ignorance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y
ReplyDeleteThe "tea parties" are a non-starter except for FoxNews. In fact, they could be considered a production of FoxNews, as they were conceived by, promoted by, exaggerated and rallied by Fox. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjKCuW-CaeQ
The woman in the green shirt is a Fox "news" producer.
And as to the "racism" charge, I have had RELATIVES of mine (and I am ashamed of their behavior, by the way) when referring to the President using the N word and calling him a "monkey" - clearly racist. These relatives align themselves with the "tea party" crowd. Not everyone there is a racist, but racism is pervasive among them.
As to the spending question, the issue there is not so clear. Here's a link to post-WWII national debt as a percentage of gross national product: http://uspolitics.about.com/od/thefederalbudget/ig/Political-Economic-Measures/Debt-GDP-by-President.htm
In recent times, debt has increased under Republican presidents Reagan-Bush and Bush, and has made significant retreats only under Kennedy-Johnson and Clinton. In times of recession or depression, government borrowing (the national debt) and spending creates demand, and demand creates jobs. The questions to be asked are how much, when, and on what to spend, not whether. Had the capital stream stopped flowing last September in the wake of the bank crashes (and you can see that the latest increase in spending began under Bush, not Obama) then we would probably be in a full-blown depression rather than a nasty recession, and nobody wants to do that again. http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/depression/summary.html
Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI agree there are some idiots out there from both sides of the camp and it's unfortunate that the media focuses on them rather than the people with real concerns. And, while some of the people interviewed in the Wright State video appear ignorant of some facts, I have to give them credit for getting out of their comfort zone and traveling to DC. I believe many Americans have been complacent for far too long...I am included. I hope these people spend time learning about the issues as they become more involved.
I don't think name-calling is going to get us anywhere and it's too bad it happens. But I will have to say that when the media and government focuses on those small groups and basically blows everyone off who doesn't agree with them, it ticks me off. After all, they are talking about, and to, ME and my family!
As far as the tea parties go, I believe the movement was started by a retired naval officer in FL (can't remember his name), but Fox News has certainly promoted it. Fox News/Glenn Beck did come up with the 9/12 project which was also part of the DC march. http://www.the912project.us/
I agree that the questions to be asked about government spending are how much, when, and on what. It is a good thing that we avoided a full-blown depression. The recession has been painful enough for me, that's for sure. But I do think we need better accountability of the money that is spent. It seems we are certainly lacking in that area! Also, how long do we look backwards and say well so and so spent this much so I can spend that or more? When does it stop? When will it really change?
Whatever happened to suffering the consequences of your actions? Or, failures being a good thing (learn from it and come out stronger)? I think I'll leave these questions for future blog posts since this post is getting so long.