Let's face it, nobody likes taxes. In popularity, they rank just below tetanus shots, mammograms, and waking up to discover your spouse stole all the covers. And no public official has ever gotten away with pretending otherwise.
As much as we despise taxes, we know we need them, just like vaccines. Our survival depends on them. Crumbling roads--bootless firefighters--starving, uneducated children are just not an option. Therefore I must ask... Why are Tea Parties so popular, when they make about as much sense as Tetanus Shot Soirees?
First, there's Dan Kristiansen, a WA State Representative who loves the idea that all taxes ultimately coalesce into a Tyrannosaurus Tax; an evil entity lurking under boys' and girls' beds. The fear is obviously self-serving... (Vote for me, I'll keep the Tyrannosaur at bay.) On the other hand, Americans have always been legitimately divided about how much power to give government.
Right now, Tea Party organizers are playing to America's nostalgia for revolutionary history. When I see signs in my neighborhood advertising "Tee" Parties, though, I get a little suspicious about their historical dedication. And playing with revolution is a very dangerous game--it, too, has sharp teeth, and worse--a realistic potential for violence.
Yet, Tea Party activists illustrate something important; something we cannot ignore. Our taxes must be the will of the people, not the will of a disembodied government. The minute we think government is acting without our consent--bloody, ugly, revolution looks attractive. And "powerless" is exactly how conservatives in my neighborhood describe themselves. Does that mean they're weak, whiny people? Sadly, no. It means something's wrong, and we'd all better get to work.
The Tyrannosaurus Tax myth cannot take hold in a free society empowered with self government. That's why we must acknowledge a very uncomfortable truth, that we're nowhere near as free as we should be. Until now, our democracy has depended upon a great many things: our right to vote, our right to run for public office, freedom of the press, the peaceful transfer of power from party to party, access to education, free speech.
Today, the machinery of our democracy is so overdue for maintenance; it's easy to understand why citizens feel powerless. Police roadblocks prevent minority voters from getting to the polls; high campaign price tags prohibit good citizens from running for office; our media is free, but consolidated; and most of all, our public education system is failing to inspire young adults to read, vote, get involved, and question.
These problems are the true seeds of the Tea Party movement, of revolution, even if the activists themselves don't realize it. We need to acknowledge them, to understand how urgent it is to shore up the fragile cornerstones of our government "for the people, by the people."
Generating new ideas for education, campaign finance reform and more, is really hard--no question--and taking flak for something innovative feels worse than mammogram squeezers straight from the freezer. But we're at a turning point in history.
We're being led by our first-ever minority President through the fires of economic crisis, war, and civil unrest. We have a unique opportunity to use the heat to forge great ideas, to kick Tyrannosaurus Tax in the butt. Let's do it.
~Elizabeth A. Scott
I really like that you point out the helplessness that motivates anger, which is fed by many, many factors, including a commercial culture that leaves us with a pervasive sense of deprivation, and returning veterans who have found out the hard way that government employees are not always to be believed.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is helpful to look at the practical problems of bigness and complexity. We want clean water, but we have no idea how it gets to us and what it costs. Smaller countries have a definite advantage here; people in Scandinavia tend to be much more aware of what the government does because they are not as far removed from it.
I look forward to increasing my commitment to localism and taking that as a path to sustainability. Looking to the center for solutions will not work in the long run, nor will trying to take our marbles and go home, an attitude that is shared by progressives and tea-baggers.
How lucky we are to have the President that we do! Do I agree with everything that he does? Absolutely not. But he takes the big picture view, which is a welcome and necessary change, and a good start.
Thank you for your level headed look at what's important! May we find new ways to connect and cooperate!