Why Is Everyone Kowtowing To The Tea Partiers?
Currently I’m in the Deep South, a part of the country that the FBI characterized as one of the most closed-mouthed during the Civil Rights murder investigations that spell-bound the nation during the Johnson Administration in the early-to-mid-1960s. It got me thinking about why so many politicians — from the president down — are playing to those who call themselves “Tea Partiers.”
Republicans who identify themselves as Tea Partiers account for only 11% of those responding to a recent academic survey conducted by political scientists at the University of Arkansas. Eleven percent! Remember, Republicans only makeup a third of all people who affiliate themselves with any political party, and Tea Partiers are only 11% of these guys.
Who comprises this 11%?
Mostly white, males, over the age of 45, who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. Isn’t this the passing generation? Isn’t this the generation that produces yesterday’s answers to today’s and tomorrow’s questions? Frankly, I think politicians need to confront these folks head-on and make them appear politically irrelevant, like they really are. If we allow this minuscule, but vociferous, minority to dominate policy discussions, then our country is in really bad shape and will never be able to solve our social and environmental problems. This ignorant, uninformed group of individuals are affecting every policy area from health and education, to energy and economics. This is not good!
I can understand where the Tea Partiers are coming from. They are reacting to the fear of losing control over their world; they are reacting to a lose of their privileged position in society, and, they are reacting to the fact that the face of America, as reflected in the White House, is changing color. The Tea Partiers don’t like the fact that the national anthem, which they are trying to change to “God Bless America,” is beginning to be sung by folks with a broad array of accents.
Well I got news for them. One cannot change history, one cannot change, change. What they need to do is not stop time, but try and understand how the world is changing around them and then find how they can help their country to make it’s way during these changing times. Politicians for their part need to develop some…leadership (I was going to saying something about a politician’s anatomy but realized this was a family-oriented news service). Also, they will need courage to face down these naysayers in order to push rhetoric aside and get down to the business of the people.
Dr. Henry Flores is a professor of Political Science and Dean of the Graduate School at St. Mary’s University, in San Antonio, Texas.
[Photo By futureatlas.com]