This whole Tea Party thing is somewhat confusing. Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that people who are upset about politics are participating in protests rather than being apathetic. However, some things that they're saying don't make sense to me. The big cry is, "Give me my country back." Where do they think their country went? Did they have a bad dream in which they wake up and suddenly can't find all of the states? "Oh, no! Didn't Delaware used to be over there? Whoever took it, should give it back." And who do they think took it? Was it some country with fewer problems than we have? Are they calling out in this dream, "Hey, Monaco, we know you took our country. That's not right. You don't even have room for it."
Many of us were surprised by the recent demographic statistics about the Tea Party. Tea Partiers say they don't want the government so involved in their lives, yet the majority of them are in favor of Social Security and Medicare. In other words, they are against the government spending money on programs to help people except for the programs that they like. The majority of Tea Partiers are wealthier than the average American, better educated, and own nicer homes. So they've achieved the American Dream. They just don't care if anyone else ever gets to have that dream.
Just what are they unhappy with? What do they think has changed too much? Do they yearn for a time when there was runaway spending by the Bush Administration? They shouldn't worry about that. We've still got runaway spending. Do they miss the days when we waged a senseless war in the Mideast? Cheer up. We're still waging that war. Are they afraid that since Obama was elected, Wall Street's traditional greed has been halted? There are two words that should get rid of this fear: "Goldman Sachs." So where's the "socialism?" What are the "radical" moves Obama has made?
Is it just about health care? Come on. Is there one American who either personally or through his or her family hasn't had a horrible experience with a doctor, a hospital, or an insurance company? I don't know any. Besides, if for some reason, you love your nice, caring insurance company, nobody's making you change to something else. That doesn't sound so radical to me.
So why are they upset with the Obama Administration? It goes beyond the Democrats who were upset with Bush becoming President. These are not the usual feelings that those among the political "outs" have for the political "ins." There are some things having to do with the anger that these people feel towards Obama that is over the top. I'm talking about the out and out disdain, the name-calling, the drawings of Obama looking like Hitler that are displayed at their rallies. This is not just the traditional American rhetoric of those who were disappointed that their people were voted out of office. This is unabashed hatred.
I'm thinking of forming my own political group and calling it the Cola Party. I want my country back, too, and not just the good old America in which Coke only cost a dime. I would love to see the old America in which people could disagree politically, but still respect each other's opinions -- and their right to have them. Give me back my America in which people could calmly discuss their differences without calling each other un-American.
Those who are actually spewing disgusting invective or bringing those Nazi posters to the rallies might very well be on the fringe of this fringe movement. I'm certainly not suggesting that everyone in the Tea Party is filled with this venom. But I worry that too many of them are.
So what makes these Obama opponents so much angrier, so much more threatened, and so much more involved in using violent images than Americans who haven't liked previous Presidents throughout our history? It's a mystery, isn't it? Lets see. What is it about President Obama that's different from all the other Presidents who've come before him? Hmm. Maybe it's not really such a mystery after all.
Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Home Improvement" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. He can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com. Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and his podcasts on iTunes.
I don't know how reliable the sources for this article are, but, I do know many employers are suddenly "reconsidering" employee health plans. All I will say, is if my health plan takes is affected in any adverse manner because of this legislation, I will never vote for someone with a D next to their name again.
The "I got mine, the heck with everyone else" attitude is part of the issue. The health insurance industry must appease some customers so it can rip off others.
Tha basic argument of the Tea Partiers is that the government is taking their money in the form of taxes indescriminately and they want it to stop. The notion that it is acceptable for the government to take one person's money to give it to another is wrong. In essence this is the loss of the country of which the Tea Partiers are speaking. It used to be that people worked hard for the benefit of themselves, family and friends. This is not the case anymore. This is frequently done with a socialistic result. Of course, since govenrment is run by rich people, there are times when it is done in support of capitalism. The only confusion is the result of your perception. You have been educated to believe that everything is socialist or capitalist, republican or democrat, left or right, etc.
And since they weren't out doing this when Bush was in office - there can be only one reason why they're suddenly all concerned (frothing, hissing, spewing, wretching.)
And Mr. Garver's article is just fine. So if Huffpo. You just don't like what it points out.
Moreover, my column was not about supporting the right or the left, it was a call for a more civil discourse -- as I said expressing your opinions without name-calling. It's a shame that you couldn't even do that in your comment ("socialist."). Yet, I won't speculate how you were educated. That would be presumptuous.
Lloyd
www.lloydgarver.com
1. I said it is wrong to take one persons money through taxation to give to another. That is very different from tax money being used to the benefit of others.
2. "Exactly" how you were educated? Hardly, and I don't appreciate your impying that I would be so presumptuous. You like all Americans in our age group and younger have been force fed the democrat-republican, right-left, etc. perspectives our whole lives. Your article clearly conveys that you think along those lines.
3. There is no name-calling in my comment. I did not refer to you as a socialist, and again I don't appreciate your implying that I did.
Maybe the discourse would be more civil if it weren't for jouranlists distorting what others say.
Lloyd
LLoyd
www.lloydgarver.com
Lloyd
Tea partiers cling to their "socialist" government programs, while arguing against "socialist" government programs. After Bill Clinton left us with a surplus, tea partiers were part of the Republican party that laughed at Al Gore's idea of a "lock box" for social security. They along with a minority of voters sent "W" to the White House, where he blew whatever they think they contributed to SS and Medicare on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tea partiers need to walk the walk if they're going to talk the talk and accept an increase in the age before you can receive SS to be in line with how long beneficiaries lived when the system was created. That would be about 80 today. Suck it up tea baggers and go back to work. If you didn't save enough to retire at 65 without Social Security, you might have wanted to elect leaders that insured its solvency! Remember the "lock box"?
Interesting suggestion for the Tea people.
Lloyd
I agree that Bush over spent. Obama is over-spending even more, but I would not be happy even if he continued at Bush’s level. This year's deficit is 1.5 trillion -- I'm not happy with that whoever caused (is causing) it. Remember that this is just the deficit. Even if the deficit magically hit zero we would still have to pay back all of those loans at some point in time.
Yes, taxes are down right now, but that is a red herring that obscures the long term. Sooner or later we have to pay off all the debt we are running up. Taxes will have to go up. Furthermore, we’ll never be able to repay all the money we have ‘borrowed’ from social security. We’ll probably address this by limiting social security payouts. I suspect this will be through a means test for payments. As a result, social security won’t be a payment that is returned to you later in life – it will be a tax.
I don’t care who's fault it was: Bush, Obama, Congress, or the StayPuft Marshmallow Man. Do you believe we can continue spending more than we take in? The latest Presidential Budget has the total debt growing by at least $10 trillion over the next ten years.
That tea partiers don't seem to be able to grasp how allowing big banks to "fail" would have caused smaller banks to fail, completely drying up the flow of credit and money, leading to massive business failures and individual bankruptcies. This is a failure of our educational system and a testament to their inability to understand how interrelated different aspect of our economy are. The idea that your rely simply on yourself is juvenile and ignores our economy grows and prospers. Now tea partiers seem to want to shy away from regulation, despite the fact that deregulation of the financial markets is directly responsible for helping to create this mess.
I understand that these are simple people, but these are not simple times. We can ill afford to let a group as ignorant as the tea partiers determine fiscal policy, against the logic of every leading economist, conservative and progressive, alike.
so you could say Bush was the point in which the pot was starting to boil. now we have Obama turning up the heat, being more reckless, and making the problems worse. so now the pot is boiling over.
so they were upset with Bush also, he grabbed thier attention. and with Obama, they have had enough of this reckless behavior of the gov't that was out of hand to begin with, but Obama and his addministration have raised the bar too high and people have had it with all the nonsense coming out of D.C.
Lloyd
Yes, let the tea-baggers go back to work to support their right-wing politicians. You can be sure they ( Republicans ) won't be making any sacrifices or giving up anything for 'their' country. The tea-baggers are the ones who will and have made the sacrifices for their right-wing extremist politicians.
The very fact that not one of them can explain and justify their anger with valid,coherrent reasoning based on facts and reality show that they are simply window dressing the only other belief that does not require reasoning, facts, and justification. Racism.
I have yet to see one Teabagger adequately explain and justify their anger without using lies, hypocrisy, and distortion .
I pay into Social Security, thus, I don't believe it is too much to ask to receive a return on an "investment" that I have made over the course of my working life. Otherwise, I would have invested the money into my 401k. Actually, I would prefer it.
Lloyd
L:loyd