Tea Party: "Hostage-takers" or "Freedom Fighters"?

Photo credit: www.wikipedia.org

Just over a week after the media focused attention on the U.S. debt crisis, certain factions of American society can finally breathe a sigh of relief. 


That’s right - members of Congress have taken leave of their credit woes and closed shop on the budget. 


For now.


On the way out, the gang on the hill have left America with a blemished reputation across the globe. Far worse, their dysfunctional antics have been cited by Standard & Poor’s John Chambers as contributing to America’s reduced credit rating.


The rating, formerly AAA (only the best) was lowered to AA+ (in league with several developing nations) in response to America’s continuing fiscal fiascos and is, by all measures, a truly historical event.


Political posturing
Apparently this reduction was made possible in large part by the active and, at times, vitriolic displays rendered by those declaring themselves the “Tea Party”. 


An organization originally created to counter the 2008 Stimulus package, specifically, the tea party has its sites on the Obama administration, in general.


Add to this the “politics as usual” stance taken by elected officials on both sides of the aisle and average Americans were caught in the a political vice-grip - between Democrats, Republicans, and tea party activists.


Or, as Bill Maher has been heard to say, “Tea Baggers”.

Photo credit: www.City-analysis.net

I say “hostage-taker” you say “freedom fighter"
Maher is amongst a growing number of comedians, elected officials and private citizens who, passionate about their politics, rely on colorful descriptive language to communicate their message.


Like using the terms “terrorists”, “hostage-takers”, or “freedom fighters”.


I know, since I’ve used one of them to describe the debt ceiling debacle and I definitely meant it when I said it. And I still do. 


Mostly because being a “hostage" was exactly how I felt, and “hostage-taking” was the immediate and closest definition that came to mind for the current situation.


That said, I am equally confident that, when tea party activists have used the phrase “terrorists” against Democrats (since that was not so long ago) or the most recent, “freedom fighters”, to describe their own cause - they really believe it.

Many election cycles ago the United States backed what was then referred to as the “freedom fighters” - an army of Afghani citizen soldiers fighting to deflect a brutal Soviet invasion. 


If Hollywood’s portrayal of that time is at all accurate, most of us now know that millions of dollars in military aid and training were funneled to these “freedom fighters” - including one Osama bin Laden.


Fast forward to September 2001 and those same “freedom fighters” whom we supported against the Soviets have been re-classified “terrorists” - haters of democracy whose sole mission is one of destroying  America.


So, it appears, last years “freedom fighters” are this years “terrorists” - with a definite thin line between the two.

Photo credit: www.wikipedia.org

Thin line of politics
In that thin line are politics and language. Of which the former is completely engaged in the latter - capitalizing on language and messaging to bedazzle otherwise uninformed citizenry.


In a recent World Net Daily article, tea party members are quoted as decrying the use of certain words to describe their behavior - suggesting that anyone using these descriptors is “offensive, false, and shocking”.  


Specifically, tea party activists are taking aim at Vice-President Biden after Biden suggested that tea party protests related to the budget, debt, and credit ceiling amounted to acts of terror on American society.


This doesn’t sit well with the tea party - who, apparently, can dish it out a whole lot better than they can take it. Now comes word that they want a retraction and an apology from the second in command.


Sorry, for what?
But why should Biden apologize for what he believes, if what he believes closely mirrors the reality on the ground?


For Biden (and many others) the actions of the tea party have operated contrary to the best interest of the majority of Americans and Biden is well within his rights to voice that opinion. 


Heck, if tea party activists stopped to read the fine print on their own “proposal”, many would find that they themselves will not benefit from the recently approved budget. 


But that’s another blog for another day.

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Just a little thing we call the 1st Amendment
In just the same way that the tea party believes that they are the modern day “freedom fighters”, there are many others who believe just the opposite - that the tea party operates as “terrorists” from within.


Taking it further, there are those who believe that the tea party has operated to hijack our society with unreasoned policies (like trickle-down economics) that have historically only benefitted the top of the American food chain.


In a country which prides itself on freedom of expression based on the 1st Amendment and Constitutional rights, who is right and who is wrong in this debate?


At the end of the day and the debate, it all boils down to political perspective: one man’s “freedom fighter” is another’s “terrorist”.