Posted by
reasonmclucus on Sunday, October 03, 2010 5:37:58 PM
Critics of the Tea Party movement suffer from the delusion that the
lack of specific complaints means there isn't really
anything wrong.
Have you ever had a craving for something, but couldn't decide exactly
what you wanted to eat? Perhaps you remember the Star Trek episode in
which Mr. Spock was temporarily in command and Scotty was complaining
that the ship "didn't feel right" even though he couldn't say what
specifically was wrong.
Do you sometimes feel sick, but have trouble describing
exactly what is wrong with your body?
Many of the Tea Party participants are in such a situation. They
believe something is wrong with the country, but aren't sure what it
is.
We shouldn't expect them to have analyzed our society and government to
determine what is actually wrong. Most are average citizens rather than
political scientists or sociologists who devote their time to studying
government and society.
Political scientists often use the term "alienated" to describe a
situation in which average voters aren't connected to government
officials or government in general.
Some may be reacting to the way government or politicians have treated
them or just concerned about government becoming too
intrusive.
Perhaps they know someone whom government has mistreated. They
may feel that government services aren't worth what it is costing them
in taxes, particularly local taxes such as sales taxes and property
taxes.
Some may be upset by overly aggressive government efforts to control
personal behavior such as seat belt laws or excessive taxes on
tobacco. Even many of us who have never smoked recognize
that smokers don't threaten our safety the way drivers under the
influence of alcohol or drugs do.
Elected officials are often isolated from voters. The
media encourages this isolation by hiring reporters,
editors and news anchors who act as if they have a duty to serve
politicians rather than the general public.
Many journalists are like the emperor's supporters in the story of the
Emperor's
New Clothes who refuse to consider that the reason they can't
see his new clothes is because he doesn't have any. Instead of
trying to keep their party "honest": by looking for flaws in its
policies, they blindly support those policies.
Journalists refuse to consider the possibility that "Emperor"
Obama has no clothes on.
For example, Obama and his media slaves continue to ignore the obvious
con involved in claims about global warming. Even
those who don't know enough science to know that the theory
behind greenhouse gases was disproved a century ago, recognize that
claims that humans can control the temperature of the air isn't
believable.
Investment
cons are often recognizable because they sound too good to be
true. Political cons sound too bad to be true like the claim that
the polar ice caps will all melt or Saddam Hussein was
about to give Weapons of Mass Destruction to al Qaeda.
Media critics complain about Tea Party supporters turning to
Republicans like Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck. What choice do people
have? The only choices provided by the media are the Democrats
and the people at Fox.
If alternative views exist, the media are
ignoring them. If media critics don't like the choice Tea Party
members are making, they should look for other alternatives
to
the rejected ideas of the Democrats.