STEYN: A 'cuppa' crazy for a tea party?

The Washington Times ^ | April 20, 2009 | Mark Steyn

[Scanian]

Our lesson today comes from the old British novelty song.

"I like a nice cup of tea in the morning

"Just to start the day, you see

"And at half-past-eleven

"My idea of heaven

"Is a nice cup of tea. . . ."

In other cultures, tea is a soothing beverage, a respite from the cares of the world. A "Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down" is a British best-seller offering advice on tea, biscuits (that's "cookies" in American English) and comfy chairs by the husband-and-wife team of "Nicey" and "Wifey," which sobriquets suggest these are not folks to turn to for societal insurrection.

George Orwell - the George Orwell of "Animal Farm" and "1984" - wrote a famous essay called "A Nice Cup of Tea," all about the best way to warm the pot and the defects of shallow cups.

Is it some sort of political allegory for impending civil war set in a household torn between those who put the milk in before the tea and those who do so after? No, Orwell liked a good "cuppa" (as they say in England) and was eager to pass on his advice for extracting maximum satisfaction from it.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

LOL, I clicked on it just to see what his point was, because it sure wasn’t clear.
Pretty good read, as it turned out.

[livius]

Excellent article, as usual. This sums up what the media doesn't want to understand:

That's why these are tea parties - because the heart of the matter is the same question posed two-and-a-third centuries ago: Are Americans subjects or citizens? If the latter, then a benign sovereign should not be determining "your interests" and then announcing he is giving you a tax credit as your pocket money.

But this was the attitude of the media and the government:

But in America, tea is not a soothing beverage to be served with McVitie's Digestive Biscuits. It's a raging stimulant. It's rabies in an Earl Grey bag.

Frankly, I think the tea parties did scare them, even though they refuse to acknowledge them or their significance.

[Scanian]

Sure it scared them. They remember Prop.13 and Howard Jarvis very well. Liberals hate an aroused public because the truth is there are more of us than there are of them. They count on our complacency and when it evaporates they get scared to death.

[mylife]

Like the original tea party, it is in the end about freedom. Live tea or die!

[wmileo]

After reading the entire article from the Washington Times, I wonder if Susan Roesgen of CNN will get a job in the Administration after shilling for the OBAMA Tax Plan?

I any event, she should be arrested for impersonating a journalist.

[kidd]

bump for reading

[downwdims]