Toning Down the Rhetoric

I've watched the TEA Party gatherings. People wave the American flag. They sing patriotic songs and pledge allegiance to America. They seem to be working class and they are activated across the country. They don't look young particularly, but some of them are young. They don't look old, but there are significant numbers of senior citizens to be seen. They certainly don't look lily white. I've seen African-Americans and Latinos and Asians at the gatherings. I've never seen violence or hostility and I've failed to notice anything racist about the positions the TEA party has espoused.

They appear to me to be proud Americans who aren't embarrassed by their country. They look to be free-market capitalists who embrace the traditional conservative positions of individual responsibility and low taxation building strong economies. They've been largely divorced from the social conservative agenda although many candidates which they support have been strong social conservatives. They have been quite successful at the polls.

So we hear that we must tone down the rhetoric. We must not vilify the opposition. We must avoid partisan divisiveness and work together to solve problems without antagonism.

I guess this is the way we should do it: