The Power of Protest

Since the Boston Tea Party to the sit-ins of the 1950’s to the tea parties of present day, Americans have always had a love affair with the art of protesting. Moreover, Americans have always considered the act of protesting a basic right that is outlined in the Constitution. The reason for this is simple; we have never fully trusted any form of government.

Since the time before the American Revolution, we as Americans have always been accustomed to governing ourselves. So it only stands to reason that we kicked the British out of our country and invented a government that has given relative autonomy to all its citizens. But unfortunately, something has changed. We no longer trust ourselves to make the right decision and have given our government far too much control under the guise of social justice and ability to keep us safe. And in return the government has deemed anyone who protests their judgment as un-American and subversive.

So why the change? Why has it gone from us not trusting the government to government not trusting us? Some will tell that it is a simple matter of republicans not liking democrats and vice versa. But it’s not quite that simple. The real problem is that there is a faction of Americans who simply do not like America and many of those people are in power as we speak. Now I do not believe that there intentions are to destroy the United States, but they definitely would like to drastically change it. And as history has shown us, anytime a nation, no matter how civilized, has completely turned around, they did so by silencing the opposition.

This has become evident from the protests of the past year. In recent weeks we have heard those who protest town hall meetings called a subversive mob. And just a few months ago we have heard that those who attended the tea parties were racist un-Americans. This is a very common political ploy. In an attempt to marginalize dissent, the powers that be make the protesters look crazy and on the fringe, making it almost impossible for any moderate to support them.

Let us not be mistaken, America is divided. I know as well as anyone else that there are still racists out there and that there is still a large number of people out there who are disenfranchised and misrepresented. But the answer is not does lie in taking away there disenfranchisement and giving it to someone else. If your car had a flat tire you wouldn’t trade it in for a new car, you would fix the problem at hand. So the answer to fixing a faulty government is not creating a new one, but fixing the faults the existing one has. So as Americans, it is incumbent upon us to keep protesting and constantly question the “answers” the government has for us. Don’t let anyone shut you up with ridiculous accusations and disgusting slurs. The only thing we have to do to save this country is to simply be independent and stand up for what we believe in.