A Direct Report TO Congress

There are some things you folks in Washington need to know about the "mobs" that are "storming" your town hall meetings. I proudly count myself among their number, and would like to take this opportunity to explain a few things. I hope you're listening.

Listening. So much would be different if you were better at that particular skill. For years we have written to you, respectfully voicing our concerns and opinions. In response, we get form letters, telling us what you, in your infinite wisdom, plan to do - regardless of our desires or opinions. I have gotten form letters from my representative that pertained to an entirely different subject than the one about which I had written. Clerical error? Sure, but also entirely indicative of just how much you care about satisfying those who hired you and pay your salaries. I have written, I have called, and I know dozens of others who have done the same. On cap and trade, I heard that the calls were 200 to 1 against the legislation - you passed it anyway. Do you know how that makes us feel? Do you have any idea what a slam that is?

You see, we, the people, still believe in the Constitution. We believe that this country is supposed to be all about us, not a few hundred disconnected, power hungry, pompous and self-righteous elected officials in Washington who long ago forgot what it's like to be a real American. We, the people, do not approve of your scorn and contempt for our opinions. We, the people, have spoken out every way we can, often and loudly, and you have brushed us aside. We, the people, will not be silenced.

For years you ignored our phone calls and letters, so we began gathering around the country to express our grievances. Our signs told the story clearly, but you, and your shills in the media, chose not to read them. You laughed at us and dismissed us as "tea baggers." All very amusing. We, the people, are not amused. Had you read the signs and given us five minutes of real consideration, you might have understood and stopped it all then. Instead you slapped us with your rhetoric.

Here is one more chance for you to get the message. This is not about taxes, at least not currently assessed taxes. This is about liberty. This is about your belief that you know better than we how to manage our lives. You do not. This is about a federal government that has spent more than two centuries making laws - layers upon layers upon layers of laws - and almost never repealing any law. This is about a federal government that has vastly overstepped its bounds as explicitly stated in the Constitution of this great nation. This is about the few seeking to control, manage and mandate the many.

We are Americans. Do you remember what that means? Do you even have a clue? Let me explain.

An American is free. Free to pursue his chosen course in life, free to succeed beyond his wildest dreams, and, importantly, free to fail.

An American is strong. Strong enough to work hard for what he wants out of life, and to fight and die, if necessary, to retain that right.

An American is proud. Proud of the accomplishments of his nation through the decades, and the millions of people in other lands who are free because of the efforts of this nation. Proud of our personal productivity and ingenuity, proud of our children and determined to leave them a country that affords them the same chances we ourselves were given.

An American is loyal. There is nothing we will not do for those we count among our own, and nothing we will not do to defend against those who would harm our people or our nation.

An American is self-sufficient. We do not wish to be taken care of by our government - we ask only for government to get out of our way and let us do what comes naturally: produce.

We are the most productive people in history. We have done more to improve the lives of people in every other nation than any people in history. Our innovations, our ingenuity, our generosity to those in need, are all unsurpassed in recorded time. We, the people, are the shining city on a hill. Our spirit is what has made this nation the envy of the world, the destination of the most immigrants, the engine that keeps the global economy humming along. All we ask is that we be allowed to keep some of what we produce. That is our incentive, and that is what you would take from us with your grand schemes of a utopian society where everyone is equal and poverty is no more.

Your intervention has done nothing to better our nation. Your entitlement programs are a curse to their recipients - when a person is handed a means of existence without having to expend any effort, he is stripped of any incentive to better himself. Hunger is a wonderful motivator.

We, the people, know how to live on a budget. Of course we want more than we have - that is the beauty of our system. If we want something badly enough, we will work, save and scrimp to obtain it. We can no longer tolerate your unwillingness to conduct yourselves likewise. You are running up ever larger debts, printing money, borrowing from questionable nations like China, mortgaging our futures and our children's futures for generations to come - all to enact legislation that goes against everything we, the people, stand for and believe in. Just think about that for a minute. Imagine someone telling you that they were taking out a loan in your name, a loan so large that there is no possible way you, personally, will ever be able to repay it, and the obligation will fall to your children when they are grown. You cannot refuse this debt, and you have no say in how the money will be spent. If you refuse to pay, you will go to jail. Is that liberty? Is that justice? Is that, in any way, logical, fair or reasonable? We believe it is not.

We have been in that exact situation since the day we were born. Each and every one of us has inherited debts owed by our ancestors, and those debts continue to grow, never to shrink, no matter how much we are taxed. The programs grow ever more numerous, the handouts ever more generous, the disregard for the impact of all of these programs on the productive ever more blatant. We have had enough.

We want only to live our lives unimpeded. We do not enjoy painting signs and taking time away from our jobs and our families to go to protests. We do not relish the thought of shouting down our elected representatives in government at town hall meetings. We are not right-wing extremists, potential terrorists, thugs or swastika carrying mobs. We are the American people, and we want our country back.

Each time you ignore us, we will have no choice but to escalate our attempts to communicate. The letters and phone calls led to tea parties. The tea parties led to noisy confrontations at town hall meetings. Those confrontations, rather than making you listen, are apparently being met by a mustering of troops to confront us and shout us down, by union thugs and ACORN members being called out to suppress our voices. Their presence is already resulting in minor violence at these formerly peaceful gatherings. What is your goal? Do you seek riots in the streets?

Hear me now: NO MORE!

You and your thugs will never silence the American people. We will continue to speak out, with our voices and our votes, until we purge our government of those who violate our Constitution. We seek only to return our country to its former greatness. We do not wish violence, but, rather than silence us, it will only make us more determined to prevail. You are gravely mistaken if you think that this is manufactured anger, or some kind of passing trend. We are not shills for any political party or special interest - that is your world, not ours. We have watched in silence for far too long as you have perverted everything that is great about this country. We will not be silent again. Hear us now or hear us later - but with each passing day the anger at your audacity grows. With each passing day our numbers grow and our conviction solidifies. Ignore us at your peril.