TEA PARTIES ARE PROTESTS

Tea parties are being held nationwide as a form of protest.  The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was not about high taxes.  When the colonists threw the tea overboard, it was a direct protest against the British government taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament and bailing out the financially ailing British East India Company.  Parliament had created a tea monopoly that threatened to extend to other goods and threatened to greatly extend Parliament's authority and control over the American colonists.

Americans today, like colonists of old, have worked hard and believe in the right to direct our own lives.  We want to give our children security and a better life.  We still have the colonial spunk that defeated the British and that established a Constitution that has been the framework of our nation.

Today Tea parties are peaceful symbols of protest against growing government control, taxing and spending, and a disregard for our Constitution.  They are an expression of the American public's frustration with the deaf ears of our government leaders in Washington.

Not every colonist carried a gun and went to war.  Many did their small part to help their country.  We can attend Tea parties.  We can phone, email or write our legislators and our President.  We can talk to neighbors and friends.  Most importantly, we can use our VOTE to elect people who will not ignore our wishes and our values.  Like the early Americans, we can work together to make our voices heard.