Tea Party Express III St. Paul, Minnesota April 8, 2010

Last fall, I, as well as many others, could feel it.  There was something on the move throughout our country.  But, I didn't know quite what it was.  Now, I do.  It was the Spirit of American Freedom.  It was beginning to rise up once again to pour forth across our great land.  It took on a life of it's own.  People began to come together, unbidden by any one leader and soon these people identified themselves as Tea Party Patriots.  Their gatherings became Tea Parties.  They were belittled, laughed at, scorned, told they would be put on a "watch list", scolded, warned, and ridiculed even by our own President.  Still, the ranks continued to grow.  Not a political party, but more of a movement of people who hold their freedoms dear and are now, determined to get their voices heard.

Peaceful marches went to Washington DC, not once but several times and although the main stream media, downplayed and laughed at the gatherings of the Tea Party Movement, and did whatever it could to under report the numbers of people showing up at these events, it did not deter these Americans, not one little bit.  They simply took our their cameras and took their own pictures.  Several politicians have tried to paint these people as violent protesters and as mobs.  Yet, all the Tea Parties have been peaceful .  These people are not violent.  Most have never before, gathered like this, to protest what they see as the systematic taking away of their liberties.  They are people of all races, Democrat, Republican, Independent combined, all ages, from all walks of life.  They carry homemade signs, and they come, not because anyone told them they have to or that they should; they come because they feel it is right for them to do so.  They come to be counted and to have their voices heard.  They do not destroy property during their gatherings, there is no violence, but rather respect for the rights of others.  This is true democracy at work and it is evidence that the American Spirit of Freedom is alive and well .  Every day, more and more people join the Tea Party, come out of their homes and loudly proclaim their allegiance to the Constitution and the American Flag.  Flags are once again being flown by more people and we are becoming more protective of our military as each day passes.  Here is the secret of America.  The strength of this country does not lie within its government...it rests within the hearts and minds of the American people, who are once again coming together in the name of Freedom.  I am proud to be one of them and to call myself a "Tea Party Patriot".