I must say, I was interested to see what everyone's views would be on the Tea Party. As for my own...we will get to that. But first, a quick background on my parent's political beliefs. My father would describe himself as extremely conservative. Not republican, although he votes that way, because he doesn't like the current leaders of the party. My mother on the other hand, is a Sarah Palin fangirl, who actually put on her Christmas list Sarah Palin's books. (Yes, she got them and loved them) She is a big supporter of the Tea Party. But, why? What is America's fascination with the Tea Party? Is it just a phase? There have been other "phase parties" throughout history: the free-soil party, the fusion party, and the anti-masonic party, just to name a few. (Go to wordiq.com/definition/list_of_political_parties_in_the_united_states if you want to learn more about them.) None of the parties that I listed had singular issues, in fact the anti-masonic party tried to become our third major political party until President Jackson (A freemason) led to the lack of support from other people. So is the Tea Party doomed to slowly be absorbed into the Republican party, or will it become the third major political party? Before answering that question, I think we must first look into why the party started. According to Wikipedia, the Tea Party started with Rick Santelli's broadcast against the government refinancing "loser's" mortgages. However, I don't think he started the party. I think he simply gave it a name, or something for people to categorize themselves under. In Network, the line "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" is not simply a stool for political mechanisms, it is a chant for the disenchanted. It allows people who are sick of the status quo to feel something. Which is exactly what Adorno would call the "emotional release device". But, you know what? I don't really see anything wrong with "emotional release", because I don't live in Sparta. I live in America, and America is all about FREEDOM. Did I sound like a tea partier? It's easy to get caught up in the hype of it all if you ask me. Our government is not perfect, and sometimes they need a thorn in their side to remind them that the government works for the people, not the other way around. If that is through the rea party, or some other politcal group, that is great. Would anyone today disagree with political parties that disagreed with segregation? They did back then. According to theteaparty.net the Tea Party is not a political movement or a third political party. Instead it is "...about reforming all political parties and government..." I like that idea, I just doubt that is entirely the case, because if they were not a political party, then how do they have candidates? ABC news has an entire list of "tea party candidates". My mom herself says she is a tea partier, as if they were their own political group. I don't think the answer of the tea party can ever be truly answered until history is finished with them. But, I don't think that will be happening anytime soon.
Dear Brittany,
ReplyDeleteReading your post was somewhat illuminating for me – not because it made me understand the Tea Party, necessarily, but because it helped me see some of the fundamental issues hindering me from understanding the Tea Party (and which, I think, may often keep liberals and conservatives from understanding each other).
I was pretty much with you, in your post, until the phrase, “America is all about FREEDOM”. Honestly, if I had read that on some random conservative blog, I would have dismissed it as just more blind, ignorant patriotism. But I've spoken with you, and I regard you highly – I think you are very thoughtful and intelligent – so I had to look at it again. And it struck me: I don't know what that phrase means. That phrase means virtually nothing to me. It just fragments into questions: What America? Freedom for who? When? How is it about freedom?
The phrase is akin, in my mind, to Glenn Beck's principle “America is good” (although his is a bit more horrifying), because it makes America seem like one clearly defined, absolute thing, and gives it inherent value. In my understanding of the world, “America” is a collection of things; it exists only in the histories of and relationships between peoples, ideologies, struggles – in the history of power relations, essentially. To say that America is all about freedom is to suggest that there was one thing, one being, at the center of all those diverse narratives – and I don't think there is a center. And it suggests to me that somehow either all of the oppression that has happened in this country (and which continues) has been in the name of freedom, or as a sacrifice for progress toward freedom (so Hegelian!) – or that it doesn't count. I don't know how to reconcile an 'America all about freedom' with the fluid, dynamic, and diverse America I have learned (diverse not only in people, but in experiences – in how free different Americans are and have been throughout its history).
Do you know what I mean? These things are difficult to articulate, but I think this issue is interesting, and very important. I hope I haven't offended you at all – I don't at all want to antagonize you – I am honestly interested in dialogue.
Sincerely,
Sophie
Thank you for your comment Sophie. As a writer, I must say that I love your writing style. The sentence "America is about FREEDOM" was supposed to be sarcastic. Which is why I asked if I sounded like a tea partier after it. I probably should have put "sarcasm" in parenthesises next to it. I hope that clears up some confusion. I also wholeheartedly agree with you that America is fluid and diverise. Thank you for commenting,
ReplyDeleteBrittany