A Rising Tea Party and Smug Opposition to it

In the Tea Party debate, who’s really acting crazy? is the title of an article written by Sean Collins. The subtitle, Liberal activists’ dismissal of the Tea Party as ‘insane’ only shows how cut-off they are from the American masses, is accurate but we can go further with the inferences. The sane and insane schtick was the theme of this weekend's rally. Jon Stewart and I rarely agree on politics but he can be funny. Humor though often has a base caricature which serves as the target of humorous barbs. The insane caricature while passed off as humor, made plausible by two leading comedians, has a serious undertone.

That the Tea Party served as the target says more than it may appear to. As Collins noted in his article, comedians are expected to engage in mockery but their liberal fans "want to fall behind them, as they believe mockery is the only effective response to Tea Party ‘lunacy’." There is a calculated effort behind the seemingly haphazard humor and blatant mockery. It's the response deemed appropriate by the left. What is left unsaid is what is less appropriate namely, an open exchange of views marked by substantive points and an effort to form common ground. That is probably due to a perception on the left that there is little if any common ground to be had between them and their Tea Party counterparts. I suspect they may be right about that but if they are it bodes ill for the future of this nation.

Tea Party followers have deeply held convictions. They are many in number. If there is no common ground there also is no inclusion for one of the factions. When a large group of people in any society feels disenfranchised democratic institutions are at risk. We witnessed that earlier in our history. The exclusion then was based on racial grounds and a consensus that a wrong needed to be righted averted a proliferation of inner city riots which marked the latter half of the sixties. They have become part of history and are fading from memory. But the lessons are serious. Violence and unrest are outlets when input is nil.

Neither the Tea Party nor the left can be said to have little influence at the present time. To the contrary, both movements have millions of followers and much influence. But a take no prisoners course by either faction based on the perception of no common ground could give rise to another more dangerous feeling of disenfranchisement. History can be cyclical. Exclusionary patterns are fraught with too much danger to trifle with.