The Status of the Tea Party — Stateside and Worldwide (!)
Since the election, some people have thought the Tea Party (and conservatives for that matter) would fade away. Of course, some people have stated that the Tea Party Movement wouldn’t be around for very long, i.e. Harry Reid predicting the Tea Party would die out once the economy improves (wow, that’s some prediction considering he made that statement two years ago and there’s hardly any improvement within the economy).
The truth of the matter is the Tea Party is not going away, despite any setbacks in the elections. It is still a force in politics, and as long as government continues to disregard the Constitution and infringe upon our freedoms, the Tea Party will be there to take a stand.
Contrary to popular belief, the Tea Party Movement does not advocate extremism. Nor is it a racist organization. Even if there are a few individuals who advocate any extremist or prejudiced views, they do not reflect the principles of the Tea Party. And you can bet they have been berated by their fellow conservatives for any radical or prejudiced remarks.
The Tea Party Movement is not a political party in America. It could be if it chooses to do so. It’s unclear if that will happen anytime soon — only time will tell. It is not a centralized organization, but where does it say that it should be?
Naturally, the Tea Party is active in all 50 states. But it also has gone global. That’s right, Tea Parties had sprung up in other countries. The list of such countries is as follows: Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Israel, Nepal, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, and Argentina. There is even a Worldwide Tea Party Movement. All of them have either a website and/or a Facebook page. It should also be noted that Australia and Italy have the most active Tea Parties, while the New Zealand Tea Party has actually become a political party.
Why do these other countries have Tea Parties? Because the people in those countries have gotten tired of big government. Keep in mind their freedoms are more restricted than America’s, and socialism has been implemented in their societies more than it has been here. Another reason that Tea Parties have emerged in other countries is because the people of those countries have been inspired by the Tea Party Movement here in America.
There are countries that don’t have Tea Parties, but should. They include Honduras, Costa Rica, Ireland, France, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Greece, South Africa, and India.
Thus, the world continues to look to America for guidance and leadership, only this time they look to its citizens and not its government.
Image: Official “Party Logo” lodged with the electoral commission; author: Sablesands; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license