tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959556.post1605456396166764444..comments2024-02-21T17:30:40.448-05:00Comments on An Objectivist Individualist: Tea Parties on 15 April Protest Taxes and DeficitsCharles R. Anderson, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09610765984333672076noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959556.post-8216106830831113622009-04-14T11:32:00.000-05:002009-04-14T11:32:00.000-05:00The American Revolution did not just pop up out of...The American Revolution did not just pop up out of nowhere with the battles at Lexington and Concord Massachusetts. For many years prior to that, Americans had been becoming more and more unhappy. Many rural areas had become essentially unmanageable from the viewpoint of the colonial governors, with many small towns and farmers evading taxes and not providing required services. Smuggling was very widespread. In many cases, our Founding Fathers were not among the first Americans to stop obeying the commands of the British governors, but came late to the conclusion that a firm break with Great Britain was required. It finally became clear to most Americans that the Crown was not going to allow Americans the freedom they had long enjoyed when the Crown had neglected and ignored them. It appears that the Crown had become aware that there was now wealth in America that they could appropriate.<br /><br />We all know now that Obama and his 69.5 million Thieves are eager to steal as much as they can from the wealthy in overt actions and will steal from everyone else using more concealed methods such as the inflation we can expect due to all the money to be printed up to pay the huge deficits. So far, it appears that only the Thieves do not pay their taxes. We will know a real revolt is beginning when the rest of us begin to evade taxes and engage in smuggling. We will know when people stop filling out federal long census forms telling them how many bathrooms they have in their house, what their incomes are, and where their ancestors came from before they were Americans.<br /><br />The more widespread this unrest becomes, the more people will attempt to put a philosophical interpretation on what they want from government and what they are not willing to give it. We may be seeing the beginnings of this with the Tea Parties and with more people reading <B><I>Atlas Shrugged</I></B>. We also need to remember that only some people will become effective spokesmen for the revolution in asserting their individual rights. It will take many of them some time to learn the philosophy of Ayn Rand and to be able to effectively explain and use it.<br /><br />We have come to be in this pickle largely because "Progressives" have long held the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in contempt. They advocated a "living, breathing Constitution," which was just what the British had and was exactly what the Americans rejected with their revolution and then with the framing of the Constitution itself.<br /><br />I agree with you that we will need much more than the Tea Parties to create a decent government whose purpose is based on the principle that its sole function is to preserve, protect, and defend the sovereign rights of the individual. But all society changing processes take some time to develop and I hope these Tea Parties are a start of sorts.<br /><br />As for putting their lives on the line, only a minority of Americans ever really did that at a very serious level during the American Revolution. Most people just got grumpy and contributed what was <br />convenient when it was convenient. We must remember Thomas Paine's description of the Summer Soldier. Well, most Americans were probably not even that then and I do not expect that human nature has improved since then. Some will lead, some will follow with vigor, some will follow lackadaisically, and some will be immovable. Some of the Thieves will reform and some will remain the enemy of the rights of the individual.Charles R. Anderson, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09610765984333672076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959556.post-6345506430671391862009-04-13T22:02:00.000-05:002009-04-13T22:02:00.000-05:00I can appreciate how some men and women have been ...I can appreciate how some men and women have been pushed to the point of holding a small get together to complain about the overwhelming government. What I can not appreciate is the lack of direction the cause seems to have. Their focal point is commendable. My question to you is; do you really think these tea parties are going to have much of an effect on the goings on of our current, and future, administrations? As for me, I believe it's going to take a lot more than these tea parties to create the kind of fervor we will need to change the status quo. I'm not a master of history, but it seems the men who had the gall to throw off His Majestys' tea and say 'no we won't!' are a much higher caliber human being than the men we have contributing to the current 'tea parties' (many of whom probably chanted Yes We Can only a few months ago). This is not to say that these people shouldn't be upset about the government, but what made the Boston Tea Party so effective was not the 'talking,' but that they were willing to back it up with their lives.cedrachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13597474383822192482noreply@blogger.com