There seems to be an environment of Anger to near Hatred in our public political discourse. This Anger comes mostly in the person of the Members of the Tea Party Movement. There are significant differences between the “Old” Tea Party Movement of the 18th Century and the “New” Tea Party Movement of the 21st Century. One most significant difference is that the “Old” Tea Party Movement was made up of Colonists from Boston, who protested the taxation and ultimate control by a foreign power, namely England. The “Enemy” was England. Fast forward over two centuries later and we find the “New” Tea Party waging war once again. This time the “Enemy” is their OWN FELLOW AMERICAN CITIZENS, not a foreign power!

Back on September 11, 2001, the United States suffered traumatic terrorist attacks. Shortly thereafter, the President of the United States decide to attack the nation that housed and trained the terrorists-Afghanistan. A change tin the war-effort brought a belief in the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In response to the terrorist attack of 9/11, the government increased its power over the people through the actions of the Republican Congress and President. The Department of Homeland Security came into being through this Congress. Airport security tightened, making air travel more difficult for travelers. The Immigration and Naturalization Department became ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The National Security Agency was empowered by Congress to overstep the Constitutional Protections of Privacy for the US Citizens. The books borrowed by US citizens or purchased at bookstores were opened to the government agencies for their perusal. The NSA could also intercept private e-mails and phone calls of US citizens as well. The US Federal Budget surplus that carried over from the Bill Clinton Presidency disappeared at this time.

Moving forward to the Housing collapse of 2007-2008, when housing values that were grossly over-inflated began to fall, mortgages began to fail. Mortgage companies made loans to people who, either could not afford it, because of the Adjustable Rate Mortgage, or did not have the appropriate credit rating to sustain such a large loan. The mortgage companies bundled the mortgages into commodities that were sold on the Stock Market without the purchasers of such commodities knowledge of whether the mortgages would be paid off or not. Some insurance companies created products to protect those people from mortgage loss despite the fact that they didn’t even own the bundled mortgages. When the mortgages went bad, the insurance companies had huge payouts. Then came the greatest Recession since the Great Depression of the 1920s-1930s. Commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies and the auto manufacturers came to the US government for assistance in the form of bailouts. The National Unemployment Rate skyrocketed to over 10%. People lost jobs, housing and personal possessions. Not only did individuals lose money, local, state and federal governments also lot money as well.

Throughout these events; from 9/11 to the Recession of 2007-2008, the Tea Party Movement remained silent (either because they were not concerned or because they were not yet in existence). It is interesting that he Tea Party came into being shortly after the Election and Inauguration of the first Black President of the United States, Barack Obama. It seems that the Racism, which we experienced from the days of Slaver, through the Civil War, the Reconstruction of the South and the Jim Crow Laws, which were thought to be a “thing of the past” with t he success of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s, has “reared its ugly head” once again in our Society. Has Racism been hibernating for forty years until rudely awoken by the Election and Inauguration of President Obama?

Where was the Tea Party Movement on 9/11 or during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq? Where was the Tea Party Movement when the Republican Congress authorized the NSA to spy on its own citizens? Where were they when the US government bailed out the banks and insurance companies with the TARP (Toxic Assets Recovery Program)? Where were they when the auto companies were bailed out as well? This “grass-roots” movement focuses its Anger towards incumbent Democratic and many Republican members of local, state and federal governments. But the Anger seemingly has bled towards their own fellow American citizens. There was even one published news article about the Oklahoma Tea Party Movement considering to establish their own armed militia!

Could this be another “American Revolution” or another “American Civil War” in the making? Is there any validity to the arguments offered by the Tea Party Movement that the US government does not represent the best interests of the US citizens? Why didn’t they protest the expensive military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq? And why did they focus their Anger and in some cases, Violence against their fellow American citizens? Somewhere in the Bible is a quote that “a house divided cannot stand.” The American “House” is presently sharply divided. How long will it stand? Or, can it be brought back together in Unity?