Posted on 04/16/2009 4:55:12 PM PDT by MosesKnows
There were three Tea Parties in Northern Virginia that I was aware of. The first one was in Prince William County and scheduled to begin at noon. The location was the James J. McCoart Administration Center. This building is located in Woodbridge, Virginia next to the busy Prince William Parkway.
I live in a neighboring county and anticipated it would be difficult to find. It was easy to find and I arrived quite early. There were two women and an older man arranging some papers on a small card table under an eight by eight tent structure with no sides. I asked what group or organization they belonged to. The two ladies said they belonged to no group or organization. The man said nothing and remained busy putting together some homemade signs. The ladies explained that they had not met before. One of them, Laurel West, took it upon herself to see what would be involved in arranging the Tea Party for Prince William County, Virginia. The second lady, Joan Howell, was eager to help and the two, with help from their County Supervisor arranged for space to handle the event. The County placed a few simple restrictions on how they conducted the event. The main restriction, which was entirely doable, required that any sound be broadcasted toward the building and parking lots rather than toward the roads. Another lady, Nancy Schiffman, also seemed instrumental but I don’t know in what capacity.
People began arriving with their homemade signs and posters. Many of the signs were very creative, some were quite profound, and some were humorous. I’ll try to list some of them at the end of this posting. I saw no signs that were insulting or in poor taste toward the current administration. At no time did I see anyone protesting the protest.
The crowd grew rapidly long before any of the preplanned events began. Most took that opportunity to line up along the side of the Prince William Parkway. They started with one, and then three, then seven, and it grew. The numbers grew until they lined up all the way to a small rise that extended to the nearby intersection. They were encouraged by the many hooking horns as others drove by, perhaps unaware of the Tea Party at this location. To see it was moving and to hear the support of passing drivers could, and did, bring some mist to the eyes.
When the speaking events got under way many people could not hear the speakers. No one seemed concerned. I believe they knew what the speakers must say. The meager sound system was not nearly adequate and many returned to the road with their signs.
I have seen the many Tea Parties held around the nation yesterday mocked by the liberal print and broadcast media. They claim the numbers were too small to be effectually. I believe they miss the meaning of the expression, grass roots. Grass roots means the beginning, the origin of something. These two ladies were instrumental in arranging for me and the others a means of discovering that we are not alone in our concern for America’s future and the future of our children and grandchildren. Peer pressure is not reserved for teen-agers; peer pressure is with us all our lives. One cannot know whether the movement will grow or falter. However, today, the day after yesterday a result of the many Tea Parties is that millions of Americans, some who attended, some who could not, and some who did not, know they are not alone.
It can only grow with organization and agreement in purpose and participation.
I will try to post a few pictures somewhere and here are a few signs that caught my eye:
Read My Lipstick! No More Bailouts!
Your “Fair Share” Is Not In My Wallet
Save Trees – Stop Printing Money
Don’t Tax Me Bro
My favorite was A little girl standing in the rain by the side of the road with short wet hair and red shoes alongside a woman in a wheelchair, whom I assumed was her mother, holding this sign…“I’m only 6 and already in debt!”
Let me close with an observation first proffered by Edmund Burke and then repeated by Thomas Jefferson.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke in a letter to William Smith on Jan. 9, 1795
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Thomas Jefferson
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. Edmund Burke
I hope this is how Photo Bucket works
According to PJTV their count so far is over 315,000 nationwide and still being tallied.
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=tea-party
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2229982/posts?page=648#648
Please add your attendance numbers to this list thread
All the enemy has left is RIDICULE (some of it vulgar as we have seen), and even that will fall flat on them.
I wish many of these agenda-laden lib reporters and anchors/anchorettes would crawl back into the cesspit of HELL they crept out of!
Thanks..Good job!I leave my heart in Fauquier Co. every time I return there.
Thanks for reporting!
Great job!
The TEA parties are a solid start. But we, the people, have to follow up by having “Push Back Until” events later this year, early next year, and for as long as we have to: http://pushbackuntil.com.
It will not be easy, but how interested are we in saving our country from an irresponsible Congress? If we, the people, do nothing, our country is finished.
“Be in D.C. to Push Back Until!”
I sincerely agree that if the majority of American's take the decision to do nothing then nothing will change. I read the 14 proposed mandates with interest. I can agree that the proposed suggestions are a good place to end up but I believe they are a poor place to start.
America’s clearly has a divided population. The first step must be to find something that most American’s can unite behind and feel comfortable standing shoulder to shoulder with their opposition. All discourse (discussion, argument, debate) benefits greatly when it can begin with something agreed upon.
I strongly feel that the Constitution, as it is now written, is a document that nearly all, if not all, Americans should be able to swallow hard and stand behind with their neighbors. Any change in direction must first return to neutral. Neutral is the nation’s owner’s manual, America’s Constitution.
Once people unite behind the Constitution, we can then begin discussions about what in the Constitution requires amendment, not re-interpretation, amendment. Let us ratify amendments that reflect who we really are. Do we want the government to have additional powers? Then let’s amend the document to reflect that.
If asking people to set aside their differences and unite behind the Constitution is not attractive to the majority of people then a list of cogent well thought out suggestions also will not appeal.
What concerns us did not happen overnight and improving what concerns us will not happen overnight. The people consented to virtually all that concerns us now.
My favorite part of your AAR.
What would happen if people spent a Saturday morning on a corner holding signs? Didn't some group do that outside the White House in the 90's?
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