Tea Party Revisionism

Yesterday was the one day out of the year our nation asks something of all of us, yes the dreaded "tax day". It has been reported that more than 70 per cent of Americans receive a refund which means they've paid too much into the system. Naturally, I find this day a necessary evil, one that we don't like, but must be done to keep the country progressing towards prosperity.

Two hundred six years ago, colonists in a new land decided to protest the right to pay tax they felt shouldn't have to pay because the entity they were paying the tax to did not represent their interests. The Boston Tea Party was one of the sparks that started the American Revolution and the founding of our nation. I'm not going to delve into the mechanisms that started the Boston Tea Party, Wikipedia has an excellent article on this, but make no mistake, the spectecle seen across the country yesterday was a slap in the face of those colonists who dared stood in the face of the British Empire and said "NO MORE!"

To have these folks tell it, the "tea parties" that took place across the country yesterday was a modern day version of the original in 1773, one of the decisive moments of our nation's founding.What they won't tell you is that the colonists did not protest that fact they had to pay taxes, their beef was paying tax to a concern that did not represent their interests and it is that fact which makes yesterday's "tea parties" completely bogus.

The people protesting just don't want to pay taxes - period. They love to disguise their feelings in shady terms like "fair tax" or whatever the new flavor of the month is. And as much as they try to say they're not racist or anti-immigration the posters and speakers stoking the flames were a who's who of the rabid right. Even "Joe the Plumber" was there to fan the flames, a person who should be thanking President Obama everyday for giving him 20 minutes of fame is a modern day Quisling, stabbing the man who propelled his fortunes every chance he gets.

What these folks don't realize is that they are expending their energies on the wrong things because as of today guess what? We're still paying taxes and will continue to do so. These folks are the ones slowly being left behind in the early years of the 21st century. They have no ideas, still living in the "it's morning in America" fantasy world of the early 1980s. They so desperately want to go back to that era because all was so white bread and certain - at least in their eyes. Now they see an America that has evolved with different races, creeds and faiths; a world that they can't grasp or comprehend, but one that is looking at them in their rear view mirrors.

That is what these folks are protesting, change, a change they don't or refuse to understand. The colonists in 1773 wanted change, that is why they dumped tea chests into Boston harbor. The folks protesting yesterday want none of it. That stark contrast is the tale of two tea parties.