Its 2 o'clock in the morning and I just got out of bed to write this because my conscience was bothering me. As I lay in the bed rethinking the afternoons events I was reminded of the huge crowds of people that used to listen to Adolf Hitler and swoon over his words. A always wondered why no one stood up to speak against his vitriol. Then I realized that I had just done the same thing. Yes, there were many in those crowds that disagreed with Hitler, but they stood silent while he raved on and on. They stood silent while he murdered millions of people. And, now I know why they didn't speak, why I didn't speak.
First, lets be clear, I am a TEA Party leader. I believe in the TEA Party's desire to have a constitutional government and fiscal responsibility. I and my team staged four TEA Party events in support of TEA Party goals. We worked hard to overthrow the Good Old Boys in South Texas and replace them with conservatives. I am a conservative American..... somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan.
But this afternoon I went to a TEA Party gathering to listen to someone speak on Republican responsibilities to the conservative cause. What I heard appalled me and made me uncomfortable. In fact I haven't been that uncomfortable since the time I was in Guatemala some years ago and we were in a private home watching a movie. The movie was "Romero", a movie about the Catholic priest and two nuns that were apparently gunned down by a government sponsored death squad. It had only been a few years previously that the movie was banned in Guatemala by the forces that were then in control. As I sat there I wondered, "When will the doors burst open and a death squad open up on us with Uzi's?" I was uncomfortable even though I knew the government had changed.
This afternoon the speaker made me feel that discomfort again. That speaker is the type of speaker that gives the TEA Party a bad name.
He used racial slurs to refer to my President. Barack Obama IS my president even though I don't agree with him very much, if any. In the military we were taught to respect the uniform no mater who was wearing it. To the military, this man is their Commander In Chief. I am a veteran and he is my Commander In Chief. To me he is the President of the United States.
This speaker used derogatory terms to refer to the Speaker of the Texas House and my Representative to that body. I did not appreciate that. This speaker spoke of "getting in their face" and called many of the Texas Representatives RINOs, thats a political slur and is uncalled for in reasonable discourse. He said no one listened to him. I am NOT surprised. I wonder if HE would be surprised that last Tuesday I spent three hours in my Representatives office and that I exchanged many ideas with him and that he listened to me. It was because I didn't get in his face and call him a RINO. It was because I tried to reason with him as one reasonable man to another. We respect each other.
But I sat there quietly as the speaker raved on until I finally got up and left quietly. Just as perhaps many German citizens did from Hitlers speeches. I did not stand up and tell the others there that he was wrong. I was afraid I might make someone mad or make an ass of myself. Because of my inaction there may have been those there that thought this was typical of the TEA Party. It is definitely NOT typical. They may never come back. At least two who left after I did, told me that they would not be back. One told me that his wife was of mixed ancestry and he did not like the term "Half Breed". I too am a "Half Breed", half Irish and half Spanish. I also do not like that term. How many others will hear from these two men and will decide to avoid the TEA Party and all the good it stands for? How many in the crowd heard this attack on the President and felt uncomfortable? If I am far to the right, and it bothered me, you can bet there were many others that were bothered.
I cannot go back and undo my inaction this afternoon. But maybe by writing this piece someone will read it and relate it to those who were there and were as appalled as I was. Maybe. But I am ashamed of my inability to stand up and face that speaker and tell him that he was wrong.
It wont happen again. I may make an ass of myself, but I wont have to get up at 2 AM to write a letter. Next time I will sleep soundly knowing I did the right thing.
Jim Isbell
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The Free Republic
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July 3rd 2010 Speech
April 17th 2010 Speech
Trinity Base - in Defense of our Republic
American Majority
Red State
Blog Mirror of The Free Republic
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