Who is Protesting and Why It Matters

     For five months now the people have been raising their voices in an ever louder chorus of dissatisfaction with the direction this government has taken.  It started with “Tea Parties” and other rallies.  Now the focus is on congressional town hall meetings.  Based on the comments and questions at these meetings, one would be led to believe that ninety percent of the people are opposed to the proposed health care legislation in particular, and the direction of this government in general.  The politicians have dismissed this opposition in several ways.  They claim the protests have been organized by the Republicans or the drug or insurance companies, that they are racists just opposing a black president, or that they are just kooks.  Most of the media is supporting one or all of these views.

     Who are the protesters?  As one of them, I can definitively assert that I have never been approached by a drug or insurance company or the GOP to show up at a tea party or town hall meeting and I don’t know anyone who has.  That is just wishful thinking on the part of Democrats.  So who are we?  The perception of those who come to the meetings is that these are just everyday citizens who have arisen in response to too much government spending and control.  It is the belief among conservatives that the majority of Americans are conservative and this all out assault on their values and pocketbooks has motivated them like never before.  The statists believe, on the other hand, that they are a small, organized minority bought and paid for by the GOP or the big insurance or pharmaceutical companies.  They listen to talk radio and watch Fox news and they do not represent the majority of Americans. 

     How close either perception is to reality and which one the majority of our Washington politicians believe to be true will determine whether or not President Obama’s legislative steam roller is stopped or not.  The stakes have not been higher since the Missouri compromise and the Dred Scott decision.   Consider the amount of power this government will have over us if the two major pieces of legislation of the Obama administration become law.  The Cap and Trade bill will give the Federal Government control over every economic decision we make.   It will determine what products are available to us, what businesses are acceptable and which are not, how we go about some of the most basic tasks of our everyday lives.  Health care legislation will exert government control over our lifestyles, what treatment we get when we do need medical care and whether our lives are productive enough for the state to justify the expense of keeping us healthy or alive.  When the very food we eat, the cars we drive, the temperatures of our homes, the light bulbs we use and the surgeries or medicines we are allowed are all determined by government, we can be called nothing other than a totalitarian state.  The government will have total control over every aspect of our lives.

     Perhaps totalitarian seems harsh but the tyranny of the state is the tyranny of the state.  We may consider this a “soft tyranny” because it will be implemented by and army of lawyers, social workers and bureaucrats but do not be fooled.  Our liberty will be gone and the consequences of non compliance will be harsh.  And keep in mind technology has given this government investigative and enforcement powers far beyond what Stalin could have dreamed of.  When all our financial and medical records, our communications and transactions are not only part of the government database but regulated by government entities, the ability of the government to find, harass and punish dissenters is unparalleled in history.  At a basic level, those who are protesting understand this.

     Can we separate the perception of both sides from the reality of who the protesters are?  I am not a pollster but based on my experience in the tea party protests and the town halls, I believe the reality is this.  While we can hope that this movement has awakened the “silent majority”, I do not believe this is true.  Perhaps this is, as many claim, a “center-right country but I believe the vast majority of Americans are ill informed or apathetic when it comes to government and politics.  In most cases the people who find their reality in television do not understand the reality of government.  Then there is the systemic problem that the majority of people in this country receive benefits from a government for which they have not paid.   These realities support the statists, their reelection and their ability to twist the truth and get what they want. 

      I believe that the people showing up to protest are well informed citizens who are not organized by the GOP or some big business group.  We are informed because we make ourselves so and have for a long time.  We read, we listen to talk radio, we watch the news and perhaps have a preference for Fox news.   A majority may be registered republicans but we come from all political parties and no political party.  We have finally been motivated to stand up and be seen in ways we have not been accustomed to.   I also believe that we are the same classically liberal, informed minority that has existed for a long time.  There are not more of us, we are just more visible.  Up until this point in our nation’s history, we have been slowly retreating, occasionally winning a battle but surely losing the war against bigger government.   No matter how influential people on both sides believe the “alternative” media is, the results speak for themselves.  Government grows, freedom is lost and we become more burdened by debt and taxes.

     This is not meant to be discouraging.  It has always been a dedicated minority that has made a difference in history.  What we have now is a battle between a focused minority in power and a minority on the outside that is finally finding its voice.   The big problem for us is that we cannot wait for the next election to derail this power grab.  We must continue to loudly voice our opposition but ultimately the results of this contest will be determined by those who hold all the power.   How forward thinking are the statists and how much influence will they yield over the rest of their colleagues in congress.  Will they be able to convince enough of them to “take one for the team” if necessary?  The statists have been working toward this goal for a long time and now that they can grasp the brass ring, they are pushing hard for it.  They know the incontrovertible fact that once power is given to government, it is never relinquished.  If these proposals become law, they will never be repealed.  They may be “reformed” in the future just like welfare was “reformed” but we still have welfare and a million other ineffective, obsolete and expensive government programs.  They also know that they may take a hit in the next election for their action.  They may lose some seats in congress to the Republicans, they may even lose control.  But in the long run, it will not matter.  Even if the Republicans find some guts, President Obama will veto any attempt to roll back the policies and they will get back into power eventually. 

     Based on the town hall meetings, most of the supporters of the statist agenda think this way.  They are not trying to enter into a dialogue with their constituents, they are attempting to repeat propaganda.  We are too informed for that, however.  So they ignore us, they cancel meetings or try to handpick the crowd.   We must, however, continue to be active.  It we win, we cannot let up.  We must continue to fight and when the next election rolls around, we must put those who love liberty and will fight for it in power at all levels.  If we lose, we must prepare for the consequences and work toward eventual repeal.  The only way the minority is effective is if it continues to make itself heard and plans for the long run.  We cannot continue to show up now and then to put out fires because the glorious building that was our constitutional government has been badly burned and is in danger of final collapse.  We must get the arsonists out of the building and secure it so be can begin to rebuild the edifice of liberty created by the founders.   It may seem like trying to swim upstream against the current of historical precedent, but for we and our children and for the love of liberty, we must try.

Patrick Samuels

www.patricksamuels.com