Eric Wilson - 2013
The Tea Party movement may not be dead yet, but it may – in fact – be on life support. This is not due to a lack of individual effort, resolve, or commitment to the cause. Despite what the media may portray, it is not due to infighting within the group but rather because the group may be fighting to hold up a collapsing house of cards.
The Tea Party movement may not be dead yet, but it may – in fact – be on life support. This is not due to a lack of individual effort, resolve, or commitment to the cause. Despite what the media may portray, it is not due to infighting within the group but rather because the group may be fighting to hold up a collapsing house of cards.
Face it; America has already raced over the “fiscal cliff.” Nearly half the states are upside down and a majority of the nearly 127 million voters preferred a governing platform that favors a saturated welfare system, higher taxes, forced health insurance, and an abundance of government-dependent workers. While there is a place for activism and justified reactions to current policies, the movement’s death is inevitable if it continues working to warn and prevent the nation from going over the precipice instead of focusing on determining the best way and place to land.
The reality is that the Tea Party is not a growing, silent majority but is instead a shrinking minority. It has been met with resistance from power brokers on both sides of the aisle and forced to realize it is not just losing to Obama and other liberals. The Tea Party is losing to Republicans and people like Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove, and the “right-wing establishment,” as well.
A larger problem the Tea Party faces, though, is not found in its members but in the philosophical shift that it is seeking to prevent. Its goal has long been to stop the encroachment of socialism and drive the restoration of liberty, yet America continues to see the degradation of society and personal freedoms. It is difficult to argue for any remaining hope to convert a majority opinion with so many now reliant on – or in the shackles of – the government. It is not enough to say the nation has a generation “on the dole” – many of whom are looking for a way to bleed society to get their "fair share.” It goes beyond the welfare class to a new majority that is dependent on the system and the status quo. History has shown over and over that the moment when a people become completely dependent is the moment when they are easily bonded into slaves.
Thus, the gravest issue for the Tea Party is not the apathy or dependence of the unchanged majority but that America has passed this threshold and become a society already in bondage. With over sixteen trillion dollars of national debt (or an inheritance of fifty-two thousand dollars of debt per person), its citizens have already sold their children into debt bondage. Everyone must already bow to the master of government to register their guns, get licenses to run their businesses, drive their cars, even to fish, hunt, or get married. With overreaching policies like the PATRIOT Act and NDAA, America is not safer as a nation, only less free.
The road to serfdom is paved with people taking as much as someone else will give them. The casualty of this is personal responsibility and liberty. As the Tea Party fights to change policies and institutions to preserve liberty, one fears – and facts are beginning to support – that the cycle has progressed too far forward and is beyond repair.
This makes today a pivotal time – both for the Tea Party and for the nation. The first thing that must be done is to admit there is a problem. The next step is beginning to shift the focus from restoring institutions to rebuilding them from the ashes that will remain in the years to come. It is time to transition from preservation and prevention to self-reliance and rebirth. It is no longer a matter of if American society is going into bondage but how long it will be here.
For the individuals that fully grasp the realities facing the nation, this means shifting their paradigms from short-term pragmatism to principled realism. The new focus does not ignore what is currently happening but prioritizes preparation for the future state. This means unplugging from the status quo and becoming an independent by breaking free from political labels and party loyalty. It means becoming more self-reliant and severing the ties of dependency and bondage. It requires one to ground themselves and their families at the intersection of faith, reason, and personal responsibility. Lastly, it means strengthening local communities by working self-sacrificially alongside neighbors and creating a network that stands on its own and is prepared to help take care of its own.
For the Tea Party (and all of us), it is not that the war has been lost. The spirit of liberty dwells in every member, and – somewhat ironically – the natural consequences of bondage will be the resurgence in spiritual faith, the renaissance of enlightenment, and the renewed cry for freedom. Until then, for the Tea Party movement to succeed and prepare for coming days, it will need to disconnect itself from the system it is attempting to save and instead focus its members on strengthening their minds, their reason, and their constitutions to survive and revive independence.
