Patriotism Over Protest: Our Suggestion to Independence Day Tea Partiers
ByOur website, Daily Uprising, is beginning to see an increase in visitors to our Tea Party resources pages as conservatives and libertarians prepare to attend scheduled Independence Day tea parties across the country.
We were reluctant to support the 4th of July as the date for tea party events because the national holiday is frequently a time to stand in patriotic unity. In our hometown, for instance, families gather for picnics and fireworks shows without reference to party or partisan differences. While the holiday’s historical origins might be very much different, in our experience, the 4th of July today is a local celebration of the greatness of the country in general and non-divisive terms. Any attempt to criticize, mock, or demean the President or decry the nation’s course might seem extremist and unsympathetic on a holiday that is known for its inclusiveness.
Our concern was borne of our own efforts to marginalize protestors we have disagreed with in the past and the concern that our adversaries on the Left will be quick to reference the same playbook when it comes to our friends in the tea party movement. The play is simple: Most Americans – particularly undecided, moderate, and independent Americans — do not protest and do not immediately empathize with protestors as concerned friends and neighbors. On the contrary, they see protestors as ideological fanatics, just the kind of extremists they do not want to become or share common understandings with. We understand this perspective when we see young, feverish faces at anti-trade and anti-war marches carrying United Nations flags, covered in tie-dye and expletive-laced slogans about American soldiers or presidents, and fighting with police officers after breaking windows and burning mattresses in the streets.
On April 15th, the mainstream media and the organized Left tried to work this angle in marginalizing the tea party movement by finding and focusing on a rare distasteful sign or by embarrassing ordinary people who had trouble articulating their heartfelt beliefs on camera. Their accusations of racism and exploitation of children fell flat because they simply didn’t have the evidence. And, after all was said and done, a small majority of Americans agreed that the tea party movement raised important questions during the April 15th protests. But, while we could have predicted that more than a few Americans might have agreed that it makes sense to bring up concerns about excessive spending, taxation, and looming inflation on Tax Day, we aren’t sure that most Americans will be as eager to embrace the notion of skipping the church picnic with hotdogs on Independence Day in favor of the protest with politicians.
In light of this, and in light of our commitment to keeping the movement alive and building the organization on July 4th, we’d like to offer the following suggestion: Make the 4th of July tea parties more about patriotic celebration than political protest. Organizers should be creating events where people who love their country and liberty as they’ve been traditionally understood would want to join-in with their families. Flags, fireworks, dancing, and fun. Participants should oppose big government and out-of-control spending with optimism about the potential their country has as it takes a spirited-stand against socialists who would promise comfort at the expense of liberty. We live in dire times and there’s every reason to be pessimistic about the direction our country is headed in, but if persuasion and organization-building are the goals, tea partiers would be wise to reconsider hijacking the 4th of July with divisive doom and gloom.
[Note: On July 5th, we’ll release a video contrasting the patriotism of the Independence Day tea parties with footage of Left-wing protests and flag burning. Send us your photos and footage of your patriotic Independence Day tea party - and if you’re a subscriber to our newsletter and we use your submissions in our video, we’ll send you a Daily Uprising t-shirt and give you credit. We give credit liberally, but the t-shirt is definitely a rare collector’s item.]
