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Bob Shoemaker
Making 'Camp' at the Washington DC Tea Party
September 15, 2009
I attended the protest in Washington DC. I took a bus trip with the
Morristown Tea Party group which I thought was rather appropriate. In
case you don’t know, General Washington and the Continental Army camped
in Morristown, NJ in 1777 after marching from victories in Trenton and
Princeton. They again camped the winter of 1780, which was by far the
worst winter of the Revolutionary War. Not only did the soldiers suffer
from extreme weather, exposure and starvation, they often went unpaid.
And when they were paid, the skyrocketing inflation rate – reaching 47%
in 1779 – made it all but worthless.
There were five buses that left from our pick-up point for DC at 5:30 in
the morning. I had heard that other buses were coming in from many other
states and not all from the Northeast. On the way down I saw many other
vehicles adorned in patriotic signage; some simply tooted their horns
and gave us a thumbs-up.
We arrived around 10 o’clock and I was amazed at the number of people
already there. Still, I had no idea what I was in for as this was the
first time I joined a protest anywhere let alone in Washington DC. The
bus dropped us off at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving on 14th
Street SW and we made our way over to Freedom Plaza just east of the
Whitehouse. That’s where I met the
crowd! The river of people was amazing!
From there we marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital building.
Who were all of these people and why were they here? I had my reasons
but what about everybody else? This was not about Healthcare. This was
not about taxes. This was not even about President Obama. This was a
massive protest against the expansion of the bloated Federal government
and it’s intrusions on our personal liberties!
Of course individuals had their specific issues. Some carried signs
protesting against the corporate bailouts and others carried signs about
healthcare reform. Others carried signs about immigration reform,
abolishing the Federal Reserve, Cap and Trade, excessive taxes and
political irresponsibility like passing legislation without reading the
bills. Another made claim “This is not about race. I don’t like Biden or
Pelosi either!” Still, I only saw a few of the Joker/Obama signs and
only two that associated him with Hitler. I’m not sure how many I would
have found at a rally against a Republican Administration. Don’t
misunderstand me; every mass demonstration draws its share of oddballs
that the media loves to single out and there were a few there but not
many. As for me, I’m not very creative. I was a little unprepared and
simply brought my “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag. I didn’t even bring
a pole so I simply hung it over my pack. I figured Superman had his cape
… I had mine.
In the process of making our way down Pennsylvania Avenue, I managed to
become separated from the “NJ Regiment” so I continued on my own. I made
my way to the front of the Grant Memorial on 1st Street in
front of the Capital building. Although I wasn’t able to see the “forest
through the trees” I could feel that the crowd was massive.
This was not just thousands of people – this was hundreds of thousands
of people. People who were angry that their elective representatives are
not listening to them, are ignoring them or worse – dismissing them as
“fringe section” and “radicals” “recruited by talk radio” and “Fox
News”, “paid to protest by the insurance industry”. This only
demonstrates how out of touch the political elite in Washington really
are. I was there and I talked to these people. My advice to the
political elite is to ignore the people at your peril. This is a strong
movement and it is only growing stronger. Many were unhappy with the
prior administration and it’s massive expansion of federal powers and
that’s one reason why the Republicans lost the election. Many Americans
had “hope” and wanted “change” but this clearly is not what they had in
mind.
These were not “white southern religious racist rednecks”. They were not
just Republicans, conservatives and libertarians. There were
Independents and Democrats who believe their party has abandoned them.
These people represented a diverse cross section of Americans who still
believe in the dream of freedom and liberty for themselves, their
children and their grandchildren.
There were people from all over the country. I met people from Texas,
Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Ohio,
Nevada, and Arizona. I even heard that there were people from Alaska and
Hawaii. I have no doubt that each state was well represented. There were
men, women, and children; young and old, rich and poor, black and white
… these were Americans. Americans who don’t want to pay for failed
businesses or expanded social programs; that don’t want their government
to take over private businesses, expand debt or increase taxes. They
don’t want their government to tell them how to live or insist on taking
care of them cradle to grave. These people believe in the Constitution –
a restricted Federal government who is responsible and accountable to
the American people.
This crowd was passionate. There was anger but I think that people felt
good to stand in front of the US Capital and scream that they were mad
as hell and they weren’t going to take it anymore! This clearly was a
large segment representing the opinions and feelings of a significant
portion of the American people. For every person in attendance, there
were many more at home who couldn’t attend but who feel and believe the
same thing. How many posts did these people make on Facebook, Twitter or
other social networking sites while they were there? How many of their
friends were excited for them and responded “give ‘em hell for me”?
I felt comfortable and safe in this crowd. These people believe what I
believe and feel what I feel. Although I was angry I soon began to feel
… happy. That was odd … I felt this anger in the pit of my stomach but
this happiness in my heart – almost a feeling of … elation. I felt
energized! I felt positive! I felt good!
It was nearly 4 o’clock and I had to make my way over to the Air and
Space Museum to catch up with my group and the bus back home. This day
went too fast and I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay until the last
person left the National Mall.
Back on the bus we shared stories of our adventure; of the signs we saw
and the people we met. We all had a feeling of enormous satisfaction
having been part of a large and important message being delivered to our
elected representatives in Washington DC. Of course we don’t expect our
elected representatives to completely give in to our demands but we do
expect them to listen to us and to respect us. And we expect them to
chart a more even course.
I have a group of new friends in NJ now and I’m joining their
organization and recruiting more people – as are many of the other first
time protesters.
I can’t wait for the next rally … even if it is in the voting booth
November 2010 when we’ll have another message for our elected
representatives who refuse to listen to us.
“You’re fired!” |
