I attended my first tea party meeting. It confused me. Discussion ranged over a wide range of topics including sustainability, local economic development, food security, sustainable agriculture, protecting farms, forests, and other open spaces, reducing tax burdens caused by unplanned sprawling infrastructure, and caring for future generations. After each topic was described I nodded yes and thought “these are good things, right?” only to learn that I was un-American and un-Christian for wanting them. I’ve spent the better part of my professional life working on these topics—and I tend to be overly critical about everything, so I accept that there is much in the details to debate—but never before was my patriotism or faith questioned. Hence my confusion.
I fancy myself to be open-minded, so I listened intently to the critiques, furiously scribbling notes for later research and reflection. I was perplexed by how much of the story was untold, with key themes being left out and arcane details emphasized. The intentions and methods behind the critiqued programs, for example, were not discussed; nor were looming global challenges (resource scarcities, declining vitality of rural economies, climate change, billions in poverty, rising tax burdens to maintain a sprawling and decaying infrastructure, etc.) used to justify our attention to these matters and decide whether action and shared sacrifice are warranted. The lightening-rod issue used—rhetorically—to tie the critiques together was a perceived threat to private property rights by power-hungry local, state, federal and world governments staffed by unelected bureaucrats; topics I will discuss in subsequent blogs.
But the real issues, boiling just under the surface and occasionally spilling over into discussion, were even more profound, deep-seated, identity-defining, core-value issues: the definition of freedom in America, the obligations and responsibilities that accompany property rights and citizenship, the debate over abortion and reproductive rights, the demographic shift of power as America diversifies, the threat to fundamental Christianity by new-age religions, the role of government in markets, and the changing status of America’s status and power in the world.
Big issues indeed. They deserve open discussion.
We do face serious challenges to our identity and survival as a nation. Core values must be part of the open deliberations by which we write America’s next chapter. Fear mongering such as I heard the other night perhaps play a role in attracting attention and focusing civic energy, but it can be dangerous if generating fear becomes an end in itself and deflects our gaze from the real challenges we face.