Tea parties: the day after

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

patriot /paytrit, pat-/

• noun a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it.

— ORIGIN Latin patriota ‘fellow countryman’, from Greek patris ‘fatherland’.

Well, I spent yesterday afternoon in the company of over 2,000 other patriots and it was an amazing experience. Everybody got a kick out of my "Tea or Kool-Aid" sign and several people asked to take photos.

The Oak Ridge Tea Party gathered in front of the Federal Building, i.e. Rep. Zach Wamp's office. Mostly, people were singing the praises of the FairTax. I am still wary about this. I'm actually leaning toward an "equal tax," also known as a capitation tax or a head tax. I see too many problems with the FairTax and the Flat Tax, in that they offer deductions and exemptions. Those are nothing more than different names for loopholes, and invariably people will find ways to abuse them. As a Libertarian, I'd much rather have a per capita tax that is the same across the board with no exemptions or adjustments. It would be the most fair and the most likely to be economically sustainable in a true free market republic.

At the Oak Ridge gathering, there wasn't a whole lot of Obama bashing. It wasn't a Republican love-fest, either. It was an open forum, an opportunity for everyone to freely speak his or her mind. No stump speeches. No hate. No false or inflated patriotism. No threats. Just a lot of frustration and pleas for our elected representatives to honor the Constitution rather than try to skirt around it.

The Knoxville Tea Party was a bit different. It was more structured, for one thing. It was also generously sprinkled with military recognition. My two favorite speakers were the Benjamin Franklin reenactor and University of Tennessee finance professor Dr. Harold Black. Dr. Black gave us a very down-to-earth explanation of the economic repercussions of the stimulus bill and how it will worsen if universal health care becomes a reality. He wasn't a doomsdayer, he was a realist. I, for one, do not enjoy the thought of a federal consumption tax on top of federal income taxes, but Dr. Black stated that it'll be a reality if universal health care is enacted.

He was a wonderful speaker, a bona fide economic expert, and I (along with a lot of others) would be delighted if he'd consider running for public office. I'd sure vote for the man. Here's his blog, in case you'd like to read more of his writings: Caveat Emptor.

All in all, I'd say that both events were a success. I learned a lot. I met a lot of great people and did a lot of networking. A couple of groups even asked me if I'd care to speak at one of their meetings.

But above all else, I made new friends. New patriot friends.

... and that's always a sign of a good party, in my opinion.