Letter to the Editor

Dear editor,

In response to “Tea Party Express off track (Sept. 18)” and amidst all the confusion and misinterpretations regarding the tea party protesters (and movement in general), I would like to throw in my two cents.

To the unconcerned and/or perhaps misinformed, the tea party protesters and their movement probably seems a bit foolish. After all, who honestly would want to travel all the way to Washington, D.C., to protest on a Saturday, though the heat, the teeming crowd, and the knowledge that the president could probably care less? The question arises, is it really worth it? Why continue to put so much effort into something that probably seems a thankless task? I would argue that these protesters, through their movement, are accomplishing two very important things.

First, these demonstrations show concerned fellow citizens that they are not alone in their views despite the liberal media’s attempts to lambast outspoken conservatives and ignore their growing supporters. These demonstrations show that there are many people out there, average American people, who agree that they’ve had enough of excessive government spending, among other things.

“We’re in the midst of a political rebellion in America,” House Republican leader John Boehner said at the Values Voter Summit in Washington.

It’s not just important, but vital that word gets out to the American public. No rebellion can last long without supporters.

Secondly, tea party protesters are also helping educate the uninformed public about what’s at stake rather than keeping silent and watching things steadily get worse. I’m very thankful for this. How easy it would be – and still is for some people – to waive aside government problems and pretend they won’t affect us. Where would we be without the efforts of determined people committed to taking America back from the path of socialism that it’s heading down?

Yes, our economy isn’t – nor was it ever – perfect, but the latest stimulus bill was not a wise choice to fix a country already trillions of dollars in debt. After all, where is all this money going to come from? I tend to agree with William Weld’s argument that, “there is no such thing as government money – only taxpayer money.”

Hopefully people will soon see that there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7), and our time to speak is now. Our country very well could depend on it.

Kristin Cotton

Sophomore, creative writing major

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 25 2009. Filed under Letters to the Editor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry