Where's Tricky Dicky?
The Tea Party could bring an old anti-war protester back
It’s a familiar scene. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of Americans coming together to protest against the government and its polices. Some display the flag in various forms and fashion; others carry signs denouncing the president with comparisons to war criminals. Speeches are given, rallies are formed and people take to the streets.
The rhetoric on both sides often times gets heated to the point where of threats of violence appear. One has to wonder how we got here and can America survive. If you think I’m talking about the Tea Party, think again. I’m actually having a flashback to the 60s and the anti-war movement.
I feel I’m living in Bizarro World. Back then it was young Democrats denouncing the government, while Republican conservatives shouted back, “America ... Love it or leave it!” Today, it’s the Republicans fed up with what’s going on.
The similarities are uncanny. The only thing that’s changed is who is doing the yelling.
Who would have ever dreamed we would have come to this? Back then, demonstrators did not automatically fall into a specific party, but after the election of Richard Nixon, it soon turned into an “Us vs. Them” debate. The same can be said for today’s Tea Party. The election of President Obama has been the catalyst for many of those unhappy with the direction of the country.
People of the Tea Party don’t particularly like the comparison. They point out that movement back in the 60s was comprised of students, out-of-work hippies, or people who wanted to destroy the country. Fair? Others point out members of the Tea Party threatening to secede to form a new Republic and the need to develop their own militia.
But one cannot deny that the energy of today’s movement to reshape the Republican party looks much like the movement by another generation to reshape the Democratic party in what now seems a lifetime ago. Makes me wonder if the Tea Party will have the same effect.
