What did you do today? I stood up as an American to show my frustration, my anger, and my concern over what is happening to our country. John and I were at the Oklahoma City Tea Party held on the steps of the state capitol.
Hey, politicians! Are you listening? There was a mighty cry of protest across America today to stop the spending, stop the bailouts, stop the distribution of wealth, stop the earmarks, stop the lies, stop the taxation, stop tramping on the states. We are not an arrogant America. We are a proud America and we don't apologize for it. We don't apologize for the hard work or for the Constitution that made us the strong country we are. We expect you to honor that document. We expect you to remember that it is not a "living document" that changes with the culture. It is the foundation on which America was founded. Amid the united cheers of "USA" were united cries of "Vote Them Out". We mean it. We're listening and we're watching. We'll be calling. We'll be e-mailing. We'll be writing. If it doesn't stop now, you can expect to be gone when it's your turn for reelection. One more thing to remember... the people that were out in protest today are NOT radicals or the "right wing extremists" that the Department of Homeland Security and Janet Napolitano spoke about in their well-timed "leaked" report (and neither are returning veterans). The people I saw today are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, old, young, rich, poor, upper class, middle class, students, plumbers, teachers, the retired, the disabled. Yes, some of them have admitted that they voted for Barack Obama and other Democrats, but this is not what they thought they were voting for. The Tea party wasn't organized by any organization or by FOX news (They are just the only ones who see this as a story. CNN covered it by arguing with a protester and NBC used obscene expletives to describe those of us that attended.) The tea party was organized by an ordinary citizen from the city. The speakers were not politicians or party officials. They were also ordinary citizens who read statements sent in by other ordinary citizens. We sang the Star Spangled Banner and we recited the Pledge of Allegiance with everyone holding their hand over our heart in respect for America.
I took the photo above about 30 minutes before the party started. I've heard crowd estimates from somewhere over 4000 to 6000. That was impressive considering it was at noon on a weekday and they had expected about 1500 to show up. Here's some of my favorite photos...
So that was my day... what did you do today? And more importantly, what are you going to do tomorrow?
