Provo Tea Party

Lately, Brett and I have been worried about the direction our country is going. We are so far away from the principles our country was founded on. I do not think the Constitution is a living breathing thing that changes as the times change. It is absolute. It is what the people in our country should live by and the people who are leading our country should lead by.

So, I took a stand.

I want to do something about things, instead of just complaining about things.

This was my first ever protest. I was a little nervous about it, and especially to take the kids. But, I knew I could just leave if things go out of hand. So, we took a chance.

Wednesday morning, I had a good talk with the kids about the Boston Tea Party. When I first told them we were going to a tea party, they got all excited and asked what to wear! I felt a little bad about dashing their excitement for a tea party. But then I explained to them we were protesting the governing leaders in America. (And no, I'm not just talking about Obama and the democrats. There are plenty of republicans that I was protesting, too.) I taught them about the first tea party and why they were protesting back then. Then I told them our reasons for wanting to protest now. We talked about the debt we are incurring and how the Fed just pumped 1 trillion dollars into the system to buy debt from our treasury. What does that mean? How can you do that? We are borrowing money from ourselves to pay ourselves for programs we can't afford. They have lowered interest rates as low as they can and this was a last-ditch effort. The light bulb flicked on in Connor's head and he said, "Mom, if I wanted more money, I couldn't just go to the printer and print some for myself, right? That would be dishonest, right?" He got it. They created that money out of thin air...

I found a computer program online that will show you really how much 1 trillion is. The kids were shocked!!!

I am concerned about health care. I don't want socialized medicine. Other places have tried it and it doesn't work. Do you know what most public school systems are like? How about the post office? How about the DMV? Do you like going to any of these places? Do you try to avoid them at all costs, if you can? Government run places and programs really aren't that great and when it comes to my health and the health of my family, I want only the best. That is why people come to America for medical care. Seriously. Socializing medicine is not a good thing.

I want to be able to have a gun in my home. I want to be able to afford to buy bullets. I don't want to be taxed through the nose when buying bullets.

I don't want to pay more taxes. I know that hasn't happened yet, but I think it's coming. Why not have everyone pay a flat tax rate? Just like tithing? It works for Him, why not the government?

Speaking of our money that we earn, I don't want to be FORCED to give it to people. I choose to be charitable and to give generously. But, I do not want to be forced to give it to people. A lot of whom choose to not work, chose to buy things they cant afford and to waste the money they do have. I think giving money to people like that takes away their desire to work. It takes away the initiative; their drive; it takes away the drive to be better and do better. It takes away the drive to be the best. That leads to less innovation, less prosperity...it's just a downward spiral.

I made it very clear to the kids that this was not an anti-Obama protest. I don't care who the president is, if they were taking the country in this same direction, I'd feel the exact same way and be doing the exact same thing. No joke.

So, it's time to take a stand.

We made signs for each kid to hold. Some of our sayings were:

• Armed and dangerous...WITH MY VOTE!


• DC: The longer you stay, the less you remember about us


• 3 Simple Words: WE THE PEOPLE


• Debt is the problem; how can it be the solution, too?


• Don't spread my wealth; spread my work ethic


• Equal opportunity; not equal distribution


• Honest change for America: The Constitution
  

This is my brother's AWESOME sign. This is the essence of it all: WE THE PEOPLE!

It's funny. The media didn't really cover the tea parties fairly. I saw one lady from CNN interview a dad with a toddler and he stated why he was there. She cut him off and said, "This is anti-CNN, anti-Obama and this is just not family viewing...." It was ridiculous! A lot of the media said the campaigns were anti-Obama, even KSL said that. But they were not anti-Obama at all.

The main-stream media was very biased. The LA Times had an interesting article. It said, "If you want to know how to get ready for one of these tea parties, go by some glue and sniff it. They said those who were going were "Steeped in insanity". The Washington Post called me a "Nut-job."

Also, I just learned that last Tuesday night I went to bed a stay-at-home-mom, and woke up Wednesday morning as an extremist. The Department of Homeland Security put out a report on Right Wing Extremists. This would include people who are against abortion, against gay marriage, for the right to bear arms. I think if this were the other way around, and those who were pro-choice and for gay marriage were classified as extremists, the ACLU would have already filed a suit against the government and we'd still be hearing about it today!

Actually, the tea party was really a great experience. It was very inspiring and uplifting. There was no shouting or yelling (except the chanting of U - S - A, U - S - A !!!!!). There were no 'crazies' there (which I was grateful for). The speakers were very uplifting and kind. The people who were there were just normal, everyday people like me and all very nice. I was very impressed.

I am so glad I went. I look forward to attending more in the future. I want to make a difference and teach my children that little efforts by normal people can change the world.