They Drank The Kool-Aid. We're Drinking The Tea.

It was another great meeting yesterday here in Houston. At least two dozen patriots braved cold and rain to offer ideas about the next Tea Party protest on April 15. The conversation was full of adrenalin, excitement and determination to let Washington know that we are fed up with their irresponsible actions and their placing crippling debt on the backs of future generations of this country – virtually assuring the financial ruin of America.

They Drank The Kool-Aid...
I wonder if you’re one of the people that use the term "Kool-Aid" drinkers to describe the cult-like affection that Obama supporters had during the Presidential primary and general election season? We saw it all, didn’t we? From grade-school tots being led in songs to and about Obama; to Hollywood stars saying and believing he is "the hope"; to Louis Farrakhan literally calling him the Messiah; to young, black teenage males chanting and "frat stomping" declaring that they have a desire to achieve because Obama lives. We witnessed the fainting spells, the crying, the screaming, the declarations that life was going to be easier because Obama was going to save the day.

And, we laughed. And, we cried. And, we found ourselves in an outrage and feeling indignation (those of us who call ourselves conservative or libertarian) because it appeared this cult-like, Jim Jones figure was able to seduce the electorate with his perfect teleprompter readings, cool, black swagger, and left-handed jump shot. And we’re just waiting for the command to drink the Kool-Aid and for all to drop on top of each other, women and children first.

We’re just plain mad.

And, then Rick Santelli (whom many had never heard of before the CNBC video went Internet viral) spoke to the frustration, uttered "tea party" and conservatives went nuts and were off and running without a second thought!

Now it’s time for that second thought. Now it’s time to ask the questions, "What next? What now?"

...We’re Drinking The Tea
For all the great planning, and the wonderful turnout at the February 27, 2009 Tea Parties across the nation, there is no plan to turn this energy into an effective campaign to change the direction of this country. And, isn’t that what we really want? Isn’t it about having a government that doesn’t respond to the challenges of the nation with socialism and knee-jerk spending because they think they "have to do something" while all the while ripping the Constitution to shreds and trashing the economic principles that made this nation the most prosperous the planet has ever known? Isn’t this Tea Party phenomenon suppose to be about getting this country back to its free-market foundation, its pro-family agenda, restraining and diminishing the power of government and resurrecting reverence for the Constitution and individual liberty? Or, is it really about just coming together, giving stirring speeches, letting us vent our frustrations and then skipping joyfully back to our homes (and, let’s be real, there are plenty of folks that still have homes and are paying their mortgage on time) and stewing some more, frustrations rising again as we witness our elected "representatives" utterly ignore our gatherings and continue to do what they want?

Are we fooling ourselves? Are our gatherings really getting the attention of Washington, or Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Richmond, Atlanta, or Springfield?

Once we have come together to express our unity of purpose and frustration, the next step is to coalesce around conservative organizations that are organized for action and changing the political topography of this nation. There needs to be RagingElephants.org-like organizations springing up all over the country. These organizations should be prepared to take this hunger for action and a desire to get plugged in and offer these activist-in-waiting a vehicle to effect the change we all know must happen for the country to return to its true core principles.

This concentration of effort being put to great use to give us a platform to speak of our frustrations, must be directed to purposeful, legitimate, rationale yet radical, political tactics that will bring about change! If at the end of the day all we have done was get together, listen to great music, had some great chants, ate too many hotdogs, chuckled at some imaginative signs, and lost our voices cheering eloquent oratory, then our laser focus on protest has been in vain.

Find organizations that have a plan in your area or offer expansion to your area of one that exist elsewhere. If there are none, create one. Make sure they are legally and financially viable. See to it that they are not merely organizations but that they are organized. Avoid talkers and look for the doers! Link up with groups that have the patriotic guts to take on the establishment knowing they will become a target of the keepers of the status quo – because it’s only these type of patriotic assemblies that will have the courage to bring about the change we all desire.

Remember, it is rightly said that all politics is local. So start right there in San Francisco, Chicago, Des Moines, Harrisburg, College Park, Lincoln, Casper, and Boise. Remember, the mother’s milk of politics is financial capital. So, after your offerings to the Lord’s house, let your greater financial contributions go to these organizations for liberty. Fund the work of liberty.

To revalue liberty in our nation, it’s going to take you contributing not only your money, but also your skills. Find the organizations of liberty in your community and become a volunteer. Whatever your skill, it can be used in the cause of liberty for your nation and for your children.

Let’s remember, the original Tea Party of Boston did very little to change the political reality of the colonies. Indeed, it was an exhilarating step toward that ultimate goal. Yet, it acted to merely stir up the ire of Parliament and King George and harden their determination to oppress the colonies for their economic advantage. It took a level of patriotism that led to out-and-out war for liberty to become a reality and a nation to be born. Having Tea Parties is great and throwing Lipton into the Potomac makes liberty purist warm all on the inside. But, what are we willing to sacrifice, how intensely are we willing to fight to see liberty revalued in this nation, again?

Let's take the next step. Let's don’t just talk. Let's do! Let's make the change! Let's BE the change!

2009©Claver T. Kamau-Imani