{"id":1451,"date":"2010-02-10T07:03:22","date_gmt":"2010-02-10T12:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nicholsclan.com\/tinblog\/?p=1451"},"modified":"2010-02-08T22:46:11","modified_gmt":"2010-02-09T03:46:11","slug":"tea-party-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timscogitorium.com\/tinblog\/2010\/02\/tea-party-teens.html","title":{"rendered":"Tea Party Teens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tea<\/a>The Tea Party convention was held this past weekend in Nashville.\u00a0 Once again, the venerable angry mob showed they were unified almost exclusively by their anger and their anger alone.\u00a0 I do understand the anger and frustration.\u00a0 I get the spleen venting.\u00a0 There are a lot of things wrong with our government and the path we are on. But being pissed off is not a plan.<\/p>\n

There remains nonetheless, a single theme on which the Tea Party faithful seem to agree.\u00a0 Government is bad and there should be less of it.\u00a0 But this is the wrong solution to the problem.\u00a0 If you can’t stand boiled cabbage, then less of it is a reasonable solution.\u00a0 But if you don’t feel safe in your town, less police isn’t likely the solution.\u00a0 Nor is more police.\u00a0 Throwing more money at a dysfunctional police department won’t make it better.\u00a0 Ultimately, your safety is predicated on fixing it.<\/p>\n

It strikes me that in many ways the populist movement for less government, less regulation, and less taxes bears a striking resemblance to the stereotypical teen’s attitude toward their parents. The disgruntled teen will often complain loudly that their parents never do a thing for them and are out to ruin their lives.\u00a0 This, despite living rent free, driving their parent’s car, being fed three squares, wearing designer jeans, attending school, and many other things they simply now take for granted.\u00a0 That stuff doesn’t count.\u00a0 But as any parent knows, despite their teen’s bemoaning how they’d be better off without parents, they rest comfortable knowing in reality they’d be starving, naked, and cold without them.<\/p>\n

In a similar vein, the Tea Party is determined to get government the hell out of their way.\u00a0 They felt so passionate about it they all got aboard airplanes certified safe by the NTSB and guided through the airspace by the FAA.\u00a0 They got in taxis where they traveled roads paved by the government.\u00a0 The police assured they could safely gather.\u00a0 Many dined on dollars they received from Social Security and ate food made safe by the FDA.\u00a0 Some of them even\u00a0 read the notes written on their hands by virtue of their public school educations.<\/p>\n

Government is far from perfect, especially in its current state.\u00a0 The Senate in particular has become a poster-child for dysfunctional organizations.\u00a0 Something needs to be done. Yet we have to realize there is a non-trivial danger here of throwing out the baby with the bath water.\u00a0 There are a lot of things government does that we are not prepared to live without.\u00a0 And certainly many of these things we are not prepared to pay for out of pocket.<\/p>\n

We need reform.\u00a0 We need better government.\u00a0 But the fact that’s it’s not working now doesn’t mean it needs to be eliminated.\u00a0 Government has a role.\u00a0 It has a necessary role.\u00a0 Be angry.\u00a0 But be productive about it, not just destructive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tea Party convention was held this past weekend in Nashville.\u00a0 Once again, the venerable angry mob showed they were<\/p>\n

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