Don't Tread On Us

I don't understand what the Tea Party stands for.  Or what they hope will be the final outcome of their budget plans.  A federal government so small and ineffectual that any company can dump a bunch of toxic chemicals on their lawn, go out of business and leave the cleanup to the neighbors?  Or leave the sacred Valley Forge National Park in the hands of local zoning boards so a casino and billboards can be built along the ramparts that protected our original freedom fighters?  Would they have preferred that Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks have been left in the hands of the private entrepreneurs who most assuredly would have back filled, paved, and condominiumized every last inch by now?  Or that we have no one to turn to when an unscrupulous company imports lead lined baby bottles from you know where?

I own a small business, so believe me, I want the government off my back as much as the next guy.  We can go on and on about the merits of  free market capitalism and how government regulation stifles innovation and entrepreneurship.  Fine, I can agree with that.  But who do we turn to when BP screws up because they had the bottom line in mind?  Who is going to make sure all little kids get a fair and equal shot at a decent education regardless of where they live?  What government program does every senior citizen howl about when budget cutting is discussed? (Medicare).  Of course there are those who would argue that the government indirectly caused the Gulf oil spill in the first place because they would not allow drilling in Alaska and BP had no alternative but to drill in deep water.  But that's like pointing a water pistol at a cop then crying about police brutality when he shoots you.

The issue is not that government does not have our best interests in mind.  On an individual to individual basis no one knows what is best for us except us.  But we have gone too far, and our society has become too complex to revert back to being the nation of self sufficient yeoman farmers of which President Jefferson dreamed.  I believe that is what the Tea Party envisions.  They want to be left alone to do whatever they want with "my" land, "my" money, "my" business and to not know the possible consequences to people with whom they have no relationship.  It would  be grand to be left alone to live within the confines of our own conscience.  Big government and far off bureaucracies don't always make the right decisions for local interests, and I do know how better to invest my money for my retirement than some federal administration.  And very often the bureaucracy fails to protect us and it doesn't always work fairly.  But I am thankful every day that they are there to safeguard our natural resources from overzealous development, to provide open parkland space for the pleasure of all people, to protect our air and water supply, to be concerned about the health and welfare of all Americans regardless of economic status or political connections.

No bureaucracy is perfect and there will always be abuses and unfair regulations. I don't trust Wall Street any more than I trust federal bureaucracy.  And I don't believe we are a loose confederation of states where someone can be considered married in one but not another.  Or have a health care safety net in one and not another.  So we have a choice; Either "we all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang apart".