Tea Laced with Poison
Barack Obama’s recent Nobel Peace Prize is testament to his popularity and respect internationally. Yet at home he’s facing strong opposition. Elected to office on a platform of ‘change’, Obama has encountered a considerable backlash implementing those changes.
The USA is a profoundly Christian and traditionally conservative country. Puritan Christians founded it and it retains many of their values. It was also a pioneering nation where carrying a gun was a necessary part of survival. Add to this that the prosperity of the nation was built on the back of black slavery and we start to better understand the legacy of the past to the value system of the United States of America, with all its paradoxes.
Taking this into consideration, it’s hardly surprising that there should be a substantial backlash to Obama and his government’s domestic initiatives.
On 12 September this year, (a significant anniversary date) conservative protesters came out in thousands all over America. ‘Tea Parties’ were held to protest dissatisfaction in the Obama government generally and the proposed new public health system specifically.
Tea-Partiers belong to a non-party-aligned pressure group wanting the USA to get back to the values of 236 years ago when tons of tea was dumped in the Boston Harbour as a protest against British tax. It was the precursor to the American Revolution and American independence. Ominously, in 1773, there were 500,000 slaves in an American population of two and a half million. Slavery would not be abolished for another 92 years and only after a bitter and bloody civil war.
Closely aligned and complementing the Tea Partiers is the 9/12 Movement; its goal is to recreate and sustain the groundswell of patriotism that was present the day after the twin towers fell, during George Bush’s presidency.
The 9/12 Movement’s ideology is centred on 12 values and 9 principles. The principles assert ‘America is good’ and go on to state the importance of God as the central pillar of life.
‘I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to,’ they state. ‘Government cannot force me to be charitable’ – although they do list ‘charity’ as one of their 12 values.
It’s what the document doesn’t say that really speaks volumes.
Of the 3 principles of the precursor to the first modern nation-state, the French revolution, the 9/12 Movement has adopted only one: liberty. Fraternity and equality don’t rate a mention except to state that ‘there is no guarantee of equal results (in the pursuit of happiness).’
Protesting Tea Partiers interviewed on September 12 2009 claimed to be ‘ordinary Americans’, as if that were a virtue. Furthermore, being ‘a veteran who fought for this great country’ brought with it much backslapping and congratulation. Hence ‘nation’ became part of their religion, ‘For God and Country’.
The tone of the speakers got more hysterical as they demanded, grace of their ordinariness or veteran status and backed by God, their rights, which included not paying tax to fund public health care.
Nor would they tolerate having their right to bear arms interfered with. Weapons kill. ‘Thou shalt not kill’ the bible tells us. They miss the paradox.
Furthermore, according to the Tea Partiers, the biblical instruction to ‘Love thy neighbour’ was not meant to extend to sick illegal Mexicans who need health care; especially not when they’re expected to fund it.
Whilst having no expressed party affiliation the Tea Partiers do know the party (or more precisely the President) with which they are not affiliated. They carried placards that read ‘Nobama’ and ‘Obama is a nightmare’.
Tea-Partiers claim their protests aren’t racially motivated, and indeed Obama’s people say that this is his perception, nevertheless former President Jimmy Carter came out in the press and stated the opposite. It was particularly hard to ignore race when a television reporter, who also happens to be a member of the 9/12 Movement, urged Republican Senator Joe Wilson (whose outburst in the Senate ‘You lie’ to Obama’s assurances that the new public health plan would not cover illegal immigrants, scandalised the nation) to be more polite and simply ask, ‘Why don’t you go back to Africa?’
It’s clear that fear is one of the key motivating factors for the Tea Partiers. Obama’s presidency and social policies challenge paradigms deeply rooted in American history. But the paradigms have already shifted and it’s this that’s causing the conservative hysteria.
Susan Merrell is a Sydney-based, freelance journalist who publishes articles regularly, and blogs on Open Forum, ABC Unleashed and Eureka Street. Susan also holds a Ph.D in political science.
RUUM
October 15, 2009 at 3:27 am
Great article Susan.
Great article Susan.
As the ordinary Americans struggle with unemployment of more than 11%, their investment bankers are demanding (and getting) the levels of income that the unemployed can only dream about. Greed is good is deeply rooted in the American psyche.
Americans pay at least 4 times what Australians pay for health insurance. The modeling done by the Democrats show that universal health insurance will more than pay for itself and may lead to a reduction in the current voluntary premiums and yet still the neo cons oppose it.
In my view the coverage given to the Tea Parties in the media is as a result of the conservative media rather than a genuine and general mass approval of their 12/9 policies. These people may as well still be chanting "USA – love it or leave it". That really would create a huge boat people problem if it was adopted.
I look forward to being able to debate these issues with Americans without having to make sure they are not reaching for a gun at the same time.
ejames
October 15, 2009 at 9:26 am
The hypocracy of these
The hypocracy of these ‘ordinary Americans’ is quite alarming. It reminds of the fervour caused by the Cronulla riots almost three years ago a time I felt ashamed to be Australian.
Playing on the heartstrings and fears of a nation following 9/11 is appalling. However, it is scarier to realise that there are people who will follow the principles and ideals of groups such as the Tea Partiers.
I unfortunately feel that as things change (in a way I view as positive), the more people will dig their heels in and strive to maintain the way things are or were.
sally.rose
October 21, 2009 at 2:49 am
Patriot DC
Trawling through my inbox today I actually took a moment to read one of the newsletters I subscribe to and usually ignore. It provided a beautiful example of the type of movement Susan is talking about. He asked to be quoted, so here it is, a snippet from the ThePatriot@FaxDC.com
We The People are sick and tired of the lame-brained, goofball antics of the Washington Fat-Cats. We have sent millions upon millions of e-mails, postcards, letters, faxes, but we didn’t stop there… nearly 2 million of us marched on Washington but to no avail.
Get this, the liberal hordes think they can just take over our government for their own enrichment and outlandish purposes. We The People say: NO MORE!
Read this, It’s going to be a cold day in HELL before We The People submit to the National Socialist agenda. It is time to put them on notice!
O.K., If the scallywags refuse to do the will of the people we will fire them and send them back home to mama.
Can you believe it?
National Health-Care! Gun Grabbing! Silencing Talk Radio! Silencing Free Speech! Funding Unborn Genocide! Trillions of Bailout Bucks to Wall Street Flim-Flam Artists! Trillions to Mortgage Moguls! Unlimited Funding for ACORN!
No Obama Birth Certificate and no reason why!
Enough is enough!
Minuteman Steve says; "FIRE THE BASTARDS!" (Please quote me)