As 2012 closes, I have been pondering making a New Year’s resolution from a Tea Party perspective.
After such disappointing results in the November election, and the fact that Californians approved just about every tax and spend measure on the 2012 ballot, it can be very hard to stay a motivated citizen activist. But, in the words of author and motivational speaker Denis Waitley, “Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you.”
And the federal government is putting up tons of fun roadblocks: Obamacare. No budget. A Federal Reserve gone wild. Oppressive gun control legislation. Punitive and secretive federal bureaucracies.
So, my “Tea Party” style New Year’s resolution is to find items that promote and activists who succeed, on the personal and local levels, the push back on statism in its many varied forms. Some examples of featured material will include:
Other activists are joining me. For example, Mark Meckler, founder of Citizens for Self Governance, agrees that a localized approach is best, as he resolves to,“work to raise money to direct to local tea parties and other organizations who are involved in projects aimed at taking power from DC and the state capitols and returning it to the citizens in their own communities where it belongs.” Michigan activist Lloyd Conway says the best resolution any Tea Partier can make is: “Get involved – school board, city planning commission, county road commission, zoning board, etc. If we won’t serve as dog catcher, we’ll never get to the White House.” As San Diego pundit W.C. Varones notes:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (the decline of America into a failed welfare state),The courage to change the things I can (working to benefit family and community),And the wisdom to know the difference.
San Diego artist, activist, and Republican Sarah B. aims on a larger scale, targeting the Republicans: “Republicans have become intellectual snobs. We need to use the entire range of media options, just not a few elite ones. If people watch The View, you go on The View. If they watch late night TV, that is where you go. And you make sure your are prepared with how to handle that audience, too. So, I will be working for change in that direction”.
Sarah’s idea corresponds to that of Glenn Reynolds, who thinks conservative dollars would be better spent on women’s magazines instead of Super PACs.
On both small and large scale, there is a lot we can still do…and must do. What are you going to resolve to do, “tea party style”, in 2013?
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