Tea Up the Great Debate

They gave you life
And in return you gave them Hell
As cold as ice, I hope we live to tell the tale
I hope we live to tell the tale
--Tears for Fears

The founding tenets of the Tea Party movement are limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets. These were also founding tenets of the United States. They drove the Revolution and the country's governing framework.

People who oppose the Tea Party rarely attack these founding tenets head on. Instead, using juvenile tactics, opponents commonly resort to name calling (racists, simpletons, et al) or some other diversionary argument (e.g., TP is a covert Republican operation, TP is in pocket of Big Business). Easily, nine of every ten criticisms of the TP movement utilize such 'playground' methods.

My sense is that these diversionary tactics are intentional. Were they to attack the founding tenets directly, Tea Party opponents risk alienating (or awakening) a broad group of Americans who still link these ideals with what this country is supposed to represent. Tea Party opponents fear this--they don't want to encourage more folks joining the Tea Party just to affirm belief in the founding tenets (althought this may already be happening).

At some point, however, direct debate over the appropriateness of the founding tenets seems unavoidable--and absolutely necessary. At its core, the question is this: Do we as American wish to live as a free people? And unfortunately, given the behavior of a large group of citizens over the past century, I do not think the answer is all that obvious.

During the period surrounding the Constitution's development, we conducted the most lucid debate in our country's history on the value of freedom and the proper role of government. Pick up the Federalist Papers, or the writings of those who opposed the Constitution as written (a.k.a. the Anti-Federalists) and observe a level of sophistication far superior to today's political exchange.

I'm hopeful that the Tea Party holds together so that we can once again lay the founding tenets out there for full scale debate.

From where I sit, this would be the most civilized way to understand the extent to which a market for freedom still exists in this country. Would think the less civilized ways are to be avoided if at all possible.