Today, I did something that I have never done before! I attended a protest/rally! I knew that today was April 15th (Tax Day) and I was aware that the "Tea Parties" were happening today but I thought that I'd just let others go wave their signs while I watched from TV. I felt that way until I saw the news stories (mostly on Fox) and I was moved at the video of thousands of people giving up part of their day for the sake of their core beliefs. I felt like I needed to do my part. (And no, I am not a right wing extremist that is a threat to America like the Department of Homeland Security would have you believe.) So, with the decision made, I started making my signs. You can see them below!
Even the little ones got into the act. (Training them from a young age, we are!)
Even the little ones got into the act. (Training them from a young age, we are!)
I took my ten year old with me to the Tea party held at the Gateway post office in Springfield. As we were driving down Gateway Street, I started to get a little nervous with the thoughts of being the only one standing there with my sign. What if no one else showed up? As we rounded the corner and got closer to the post office, my tears began to flow as I saw hundreds of people, flags and signs. I told my daughter that this was why America is so great!
We met up with lots of members of the church at the rally. We Mormons are a pretty conservative bunch you know!
The crowd of people stretched down the street for a couple of blocks. We waved our signs and clapped and cheered when people honked. We only got flipped off once and we had a couple of thumbs down. One car had a lady in it who was frantically honking her horn as she cried. It made me cry. We truly are blessed to live in a nation that allows us to express our opinions. I hope that never changes.
Here are a few of my favorite signs:
I admit, I was a George W. Bush Kool Aid drinker for his first term so I understand the "Koolaid drinking" of those that love Barrack Obama.
By far the cleverest sign there!
This one was funny too!
My FAVORITE sign of the night....let's just flush the whole government out...democrats, republicans...and start again.
One thing that I noticed about the people at this rally was that everyone was so kind. One lady was handing out sandwiches and oranges. People were singing "God Bless America." No one was violent or vulgar. The best part of the night was when a guy from a local business was walking down the street next to us shaking his head. Under his breath he was mumbling, "What do you know, a Conservative movement." Let's keep the momentum going fellow Conservatives! We can't let government bankrupt us!
Yay!! I wish I could have been there with you -- but I was in spirit. Einar and I took all the kids to our rally here in Grants Pass! We had about a thousand people there -- and that's saying a LOT for this small town. :) We had it at our courthouse and there were great speakers as well (though since we were about 10 minutes late it was impossible to get very close). The kids loved holding the signs on the side of the street. We made two, though others brought extra and were happy to hand them out to others, including our little ones!
ReplyDeleteI only wish I had the foresight to bring a camera! Bummer! I imagine that we'll have plenty more opportunities as it's going to take a lot of this kind of stuff to make our government realize that we're serious and we're no longer the "silent" majority!!
I'm so excited to be a part of this movement! Have you seen this: http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/ ? Definitely a cool site!
That is awesome Andrea!! I wish I was there. Next time I am taking the initiative and heading a protest here in Wyoming. Nothing happened and a bunch of people wanted to go and do a protest.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, Just found your blog tonight and just wanted you to know that Karina attended our tea party here. (I was out of town visiting Lanette.)She loved it!
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