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Mr. Olore’s seventh grade social studies class at my Presque Isle middle school was never the highlight of my hormone-ridden, adolescent days. Honestly, I didn’t care about history I couldn’t get from “The Magic School Bus” or Mel Gibson movies, so I don’t remember a whole lot from the class. But there is one subject I recall above all the rest: the Boston Tea Party.
Every American should know the story and hopefully they would have learned about it before they were almost in high school. One of the most famous protests in all of history, the quintessential event was a rallying point for the growing number of colonists opposed to British rule and eventually helped ignite the American Revolution – apparently the English are prone to flipping their wig if you mess with their tea.
I was psyched: These were real men with the courage, conviction, and American impudence to prod the tyrannical dragon that was the British Empire. “Why don’t we have people like that anymore?” I remember wondering.
Imagine my excitement, then, when I heard of the Tea Party Movement. America is no stranger to tax protests, but the modern-day movement is different, with its roots in protests of the 2009 stimulus bill. Participants and conservative organizations who support the movement have been carrying out events throughout the year protesting taxes and government spending.
The movement’s name was taken from the historical event and the taxation-based anger that led to it. Some participants have even created the acronym TEA — “Taxed Enough Already.” The faction is somewhat mysterious, due mainly to the disparate coverage it has received from the mainstream media; on the Fox News Channel, these “activists” are the story of the decade, while on MSNBC, the “teabaggers” are a never-fail punchline.
Nonetheless, the movement is gathering steam. A National Tea Party Convention was held last month featuring none other than Sarah Palin as keynote speaker and tea partiers even appeared in an issue of “Captain America.”
I had to find out what this new movement is really about. Could it be that it represents the revival of the indomitable American spirit and will shake the nation’s citizenry from our cynical complacency?
Nah. The movement has worthy cause for protesting, including the skyrocketing national debt and suspicions of government incompetency, deception and corruption. They uphold the principles of limited government and fiscal conservatism, both of which I value as well. Many aspects of the proponents I support wholeheartedly: their concern for the direction of the country, their desire to affect positive change rather than be complacent, their efforts to distance themselves from both the Democratic and Republican parties, their intention to hold our government accountable.
But despite these positive qualities, the tea party participants do not equate with their Boston Harbor predecessors who altered the course of history with their bold actions. For one thing, the colonists were not protesting taxes in general, only that the taxes had been imposed by people who were not elected officials — hence, “No taxation without representation.”
Tea partiers, on the other hand, are protesting all taxes, ignoring the basic fact that they are absolutely essential. Government at the state and federal levels use this money to run countless programs, without which our society could not possibly function. Funds can be mishandled, of course, and this is reason for concern and even protest, but unless one wants to start their own country, taxes are a necessary evil. Besides, Obama’s administration actually cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans last year, which makes the protesters’ claims look like nothing more than belligerent hot air.
The colonists involved in the Boston Tea Party were calculating, passionate advocates, with the ideas of enacting justice and forming a more perfect union. These newbies, who share a name with the revolutionaries but not much else, seem more like childish naysayers throwing a tantrum, justifiably angry about our nation’s problems but unwilling to attempt to work toward a solution with our elected officials who have the power to do something about it.
Tyler Francke has always been more of a coffee guy anyway.
Bangor Daily News