Have We Lost Our Taste for Tea?

As an avid fan of local history, nothing excites me more than to learn new facts behind significant pieces of history. 

Like when I learned the famed tea at the Boston Tea Party was actually cheaper to buy, with the tax, than was the tax-free smuggled tea.  The Tea Party was just hype to gain public support for the Revolution.  And the taxes citizens of the colonies paid were pennies on the dollar compared to what Britain returned in protection for the colonies.

But people like Jefferson, Revere, and Sam Adams persisted until the citizenry was convinced that we had left England, found a new land, cleared it, and toiled to make it prosper, and had a right to call it our own.

The Boston Tea Party was a first step in a media blitz to persuade the people, and even until the war actually started, most weren’t convinced.

So when the modern TEA Party came together, I was curious.  Was this a new form of revolution, or just a media frenzy?

It seemed at first there was some legitimacy.  The TEA party claimed to back no party, and candidates were dropping letters from their names to become independents to gain TEA Party favor.  The TEA Party movement seemed to work for Scott Brown and a few others, but then it seemed the TEA Party was veering hard right.  So far right the independents were losing, and so were the moderate Republicans.

The rallies drew huge crowds.  The parade presence was enormous.  It seemed the TEA Party movement was a force to be reckoned with.

But then, when I talked to my conservative friends and my more liberal friends alike, and asked their opinion, they collectively refer to the TEA Party as “a bunch of whackos.”  When I ask why they attend the rallies, I’m told it’s to “see the show.”

This is what people said, but it still appeared there was momentum in this new revolution.  Seemed like there were still throngs of people following Sarah Palin around on her Harley because they were “Taxed Enough Already!”

But at Plymouth’s Fourth of July parade this year, the TEA Party had a float.  It was the third parade I’ve seen them in.  But instead of being the growing force I expected, there were maybe ten people marching.  The trolley behind them was nearly empty.

So, the participation had dwindled significantly, but surely the crowd support was there.  Surprisingly, no one I saw in the audience clapped, or even returned a wave.  In fact, many were shaking their heads as the float passed by.  Surprisingly, I didn’t see any support from the crowd.

I guess this revolution has just faded into oblivion.  Maybe they pushed too hard, or maybe their message was crossed.  Maybe they lacked direction.  Perhaps the public didn’t buy it, and with no redcoats standing outside their house with muskets, the threat didn’t seem real.

Interestingly, anyone can march in Plymouth’s Fourth of July parade for free.  But if you are a political group holding signs for your party or candidate, then you are supposed to pay a $500 entry fee.  I saw the TEA Party’s signs, but apparently their support has dipped so low they couldn’t raise the $500 to march.  So much for revolution.