Speaking at my local Tea Party.

[TheEgoist]

I've been talking with the organizers of my local Tea Party event. I was considering not going because I did not think I would hear much that would be actually worth hearing, but after talking with the organizer of the event I've been given a chance to speak, so I will be going.

I'll write up what I'm going to say Friday or Saturday and practice a few times everyday before the event. I've been given a time frame of no more than 5 minutes which is plenty of time to get a lot of good things in. He said to try and stay on the topics of taxation, the stimulus bill and the bailout, which I'm happy to hear. I don't want to hear irrelevant things about abortion being spouted by a bunch of silly conservatives.

Just thought I would share the good news. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Thales]

It's great to hear you are getting such an opportunity!

My only idea is to try and get the concept of egoism in there in some way, even if small. That's the idea that we need to get out there to make freedom possible.

[brian0918]

This is an excellent opportunity! How many are expected to attend? Our group (Ohio Objectivist Society) has been working around-the-clock on preparations for two tea parties in Ohio. The one in Cleveland is expected to get at least 1,000 in attendance.

[khaight]

Just thought I would share the good news. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have a few thoughts for points to include:

1) This is not a partisan issue; it is a responsibility issue. The government is rewarding failure and incompetence while punishing success, thrift and responsibility. Such a policy is both immoral and impractical. Republicans have been guilty of it, and Democrats are guilty of it. No politician from either party who supports such acts deserves to be in office.

2) We hear a lot about how 'greed' is the cause of the financial crisis. This leaves out three crucial words. The root cause is greed for the unearned. Individuals who wanted houses they could not afford. Lenders who wanted to profit without due diligence. Auto companies who want to remain in business without producing cars people want to buy. Auto workers who want salaries and benefits without producing the wealth required to sustain them. Executives who want bonuses without making a profit.

3) Politicians tell us that everybody needs to sacrifice, but the one thing they never sacrifice is their insatiable desire to control the lives and actions of other people. Their greed for unearned authority is the one thing they will never give up, and is the one thing they must give up.

[Dragn]

There are a lot of good articles with intellectual ammunition against the stimulus bills on CapMag.com or Drhurd.com

I've been talking with the organizers of my local Tea Party event. I was considering not going because I did not think I would hear much that would be actually worth hearing, but after talking with the organizer of the event I've been given a chance to speak, so I will be going.

I'll write up what I'm going to say Friday or Saturday and practice a few times everyday before the event. I've been given a time frame of no more than 5 minutes which is plenty of time to get a lot of good things in. He said to try and stay on the topics of taxation, the stimulus bill and the bailout, which I'm happy to hear. I don't want to hear irrelevant things about abortion being spouted by a bunch of silly conservatives.

Just thought I would share the good news. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[TheEgoist]

This is an excellent opportunity! How many are expected to attend? Our group (Ohio Objectivist Society) has been working around-the-clock on preparations for two tea parties in Ohio. The one in Cleveland is expected to get at least 1,000 in attendance.

Hey Brian, I don't really know. The organizer said there wouldn't be many. Probably only 100. I suggested he try to get ahold of other Tea Parties happening around the Upstate area and we could probably make it to 500. But yeah, at this point with Facebook and his knowledge only around 100 or so, which is plenty for a protest in a small city like Rochester.

[K-Mac]

Someone sent this out in the OActivist email group today and I thought it may be overall good advice for you too.

Altruism is the real enemy. Fighting at only the political is usually a waste of resources. Discussing politics without a discussion of reason, altruism and philosophy makes one a “conservative” not an Objectivist. The real battle is intellectual.

Every time we deliver a message about current events we should discuss the moral reasons for our position not just that our position is most effective or what works.

To add to that, in a separate email regarding a different issue, Paul Hsieh offered the following bit of info to a man at a health care policy think tank recently. Although the comments apply to health care, it's an example of how to get to the philosophical point.

Just taking a quick look at this paper, the biggest problem I see with this report (like with many similar papers) is the implicit premise that there is some sort of "shared responsibility" at all for individuals' health care.

That premise needs to be explicitly challenged. People are entitled to health care that they purchase on their own, is part of some sort of voluntary contract, or is given to them via private voluntary charity. There is no obligation or responsibility for you (or any other American) to ensure my health care. Or vice versa.

Although buzz phrases like "shared responsibility" sound noble and moral, they inevitably lead to collectivism and statism. In essence, they are used to make arguments that individual freedoms must somehow be subordinated to a nebulous "greater good". Once one concedes that point, then the only arguments end up being how best to tax or redistribute wealth to do so.

The only other thing I would suggest is to practice out loud to someone who can time you. You'd be surprised how long 5 minutes can be. Although, keeping your message short and to the point will probably be more effective than the longer speeches.

Good luck to you! I hope it's not only worth your time, but fun.

[TheEgoist]

I often find that 5 minutes goes by fast, like when I'm giving a presentation of class or in a formal debate. I'm going to try and not rush myself.

[TheEgoist]

I've finished a rough draft of what I will say at the Protest. I think it's a bit heavy in philosophy and will probably cut it down a bit and make it more relevant to current events.

[AndrewRyan]

I've been talking with the organizers of my local Tea Party event. I was considering not going because I did not think I would hear much that would be actually worth hearing, but after talking with the organizer of the event I've been given a chance to speak, so I will be going.

I'll write up what I'm going to say Friday or Saturday and practice a few times everyday before the event. I've been given a time frame of no more than 5 minutes which is plenty of time to get a lot of good things in. He said to try and stay on the topics of taxation, the stimulus bill and the bailout, which I'm happy to hear. I don't want to hear irrelevant things about abortion being spouted by a bunch of silly conservatives.

Just thought I would share the good news. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Congratulations!

[Thor1776]

I read somewhere that Ayn Rand was once asked if she could explain her philosophy while standing on one foot, which she did successfully. Maybe try that!

Good luck!

Thor1776

[khaight]

Lin Zinser at ARC just sent a sample set of remarks one could use as a guideline for speaking at a Tea Party. Since I assume these are intended to be used, I reproduce them below. (Zinser notes "We are not suggesting that you read this, but rather as representing the essential ideas that you may want to express.")

On April 15, thousands of Americans will gather for modern day tea parties, proudly named after the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Like our revolutionary ancestors, we are protesting against growing government power, a government that increasingly oppresses its citizens instead of protecting them.

But what are we fighting for? Have we earned the right to call our protests by the same name the Founding Fathers used? Believe me, they understood exactly what they were fighting for. When those Bostonians boarded the cargo ship, Dartmouth, and hurled chests of tea into the ocean, they were not just mad about high taxes. In fact, the Tea Act that inspired the protest had actually lowered the tea tax on the colonies.

No, the colonists were driven by a certain view of the proper purpose of government, which the Tea Act repudiated. That view, which would reach its full expression in the Declaration of Independence, was that the role of government is to protect individual rights--to protect the sovereign individual’s right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

But over the past two centuries, the ideal of individual rights has all but disappeared from public discourse. In its absence has emerged today's massive regulatory-welfare state, which taxes away nearly half our income, tells us what medicines we can take, what kind of light bulbs to buy, and is rapidly consolidating control over America’s banks, insurance companies, and industrial giants like General Motors.

What happened? Why did we abandon the American ideal? Above all, because the ideal lacked a moral defense.

To uphold the individual's political right to pursue his own happiness, we must recognize the individual's moral right to pursue his own happiness. But just try and say such a thing, and the voices will come from all sides--that’s selfish. "It's selfish to want to plan for your own retirement‑‑what about those who aren't responsible enough to save? It's selfish to oppose bailouts for struggling homebuyers--why should they have to move? It's selfish to earn and keep a lot of money for yourself--what about those struggling to make ends meet?"

And it's all true: the pursuit of happiness is selfish. That’s why you need the individual freedom of a capitalist system--to pursue your own interests, to act on your own judgment, to make your own life the best it can be. That’s why you need to crusade for individual rights, not just against the latest Washington power grab. To mount such a crusade requires more than protest slogans and picket signs. You must resolve to morally defend the individual's right to live for his own sake, not as a servant of society. So long as you are willing to concede that self-interest and the profit motive are immoral, and that self-sacrifice for the "common good" is a moral ideal, you will continue to see freedom diminish and prosperity decline.

In my judgment the only philosopher to provide such a moral defense of capitalism is Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. So I'll close with her words:

"The world crisis of today is a moral crisis--and nothing less than a moral revolution can resolve it: a moral revolution to sanction and complete the political achievement of the American revolution. . . . You must fight for capitalism, not as a 'practical' issue, not as an economic issue, but, with the most righteous pride, as a moral issue. That is what capitalism deserves, and nothing less will save it."

[TheEgoist]

I may use that last quote from Ayn Rand. I wanted to close with a quote from her, or perhaps Frederic Bastiat.

I'm not actually making a speech about Objectivism or anything. Objectivism is never even mentioned, though "philosophy of individualism" is. The current quote I am using to end the speech is this one:

"The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours. But to win it requires total dedication and a total break with the world of your past, with the doctrine that man is sacrificial animal who exists for the pleasure of others. Fight for the value of your person. Fight for the virtue of your pride. Fight for the essence, which is man, for his sovereign rational mind. Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that yours is the morality of life and yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, any grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth." 

[gags]

I've finished a rough draft of what I will say at the Protest. I think it's a bit heavy in philosophy and will probably cut it down a bit and make it more relevant to current events.

Post it so we can take a read through it.

[TheEgoist]

If you'd like a copy, I will give you a private message. Just message me first, to anyone interested.

[intellectualammo]

For those that can't make it (or can make it) to this second wave (which is to hit 1,900 cities), might be able to be a drop in the third wave of these protests which is already being planned for...The Fourth of July!!

Here is the info for that

According to this article, merchandise for the Tea Party is booming. Already for the July 4th protest, $10,000 was made.

Edited April 12, 2009 by intellectualammo

[TheEgoist]

I thought of a good poster idea, or at least half of it with "Imagine No Taxation."

I can't think of an easily drawn graphic to depict that though.

[Thales]

I thought of a good poster idea, or at least half of it with "Imagine No Taxation."

I can't think of an easily drawn graphic to depict that though.

Easily drawn? Hmmm ... how about the silhouette of a futuristic city? Something that looks super advanced and super wealthy. Flying cars moving around tall, elegant buildings. This could be done relatively easily if done as a silhouette. The point is no taxation gives you control over your life and allows you to advance to supreme heights.

Not a silhouette, but this is what I had in mind. Actually, it's better, because it shows the rocket going up! which signifies soaring to great heights.

[01503]

I thought of a good poster idea, or at least half of it with "Imagine No Taxation."

I can't think of an easily drawn graphic to depict that though.

That seems like it'd get you labeled an anarchist pretty quickly though.

[K-Mac]

For those that can't make it (or can make it) to this second wave (which is to hit 1,900 cities), might be able to be a drop in the third wave of these protests which is already being planned for...The Fourth of July!!

Some post offices are open past 5pm on April 15th. I hear that ACORN will be at some post offices showing their support for Obama's tax plan, so it gave me the idea to have my own Tea Party at my post office since I have to work until 5pm on the 15th. I am not sure if you are allowed on post office property, but I plan to hang out on the sidewalk with a sign and hand out flyers to anyone interested. I think I will use the flyer ARC emailed out earlier today. (I'm sure you can find it on their website, if interested.)

[RussK]

Some post offices are open past 5pm on April 15th. I hear that ACORN will be at some post offices showing their support for Obama's tax plan, so it gave me the idea to have my own Tea Party at my post office since I have to work until 5pm on the 15th. I am not sure if you are allowed on post office property, but I plan to hang out on the sidewalk with a sign and hand out flyers to anyone interested. I think I will use the flyer ARC emailed out earlier today. (I'm sure you can find it on their website, if interested.)

I don't think there's anything wrong with advocacy on post office property. When I was a goof and involved with the LP, we used to organize on tax day and hand out pamphlets and fliers at the post office. I can't remember exact conversations but legality was talked about, and we never had any problems. However, we used the parking lot, and didn't communicate with anyone entering the post office, past the parking lot.

[shyboy]

I have been thinking about this subject pretty seriously lately and I have to be honest about what I think.

I don't see why people are having tea parties ...isn't Obama giving tax breaks to 95% of the people in America?

[TheEgoist]

I have been thinking about this subject pretty seriously lately and I have to be honest about what I think.

I don't see why people are having tea parties ...isn't Obama giving tax breaks to 95% of the people in America?

Here are a few possibilities.

1. Obama is going to only tax the 5%, and only a little bit more. This will have us trillions in deficit and doubling our debt.

2. Obama will oppressively tax that 5%, driving people out of America or from successful jobs. The people who create the wealth will get their wealth taken from them.

3. Obama will realize the folly in thinking he can squeeze every penny from the "super rich" (250K isn't super rich in Manhattan) and will tax us all more and more. That seems to be the most likely outcome.

Also, the "I'm going to raise taxes only 5% of the population more" is just a populist lie, and isn't acceptable anyway. Also, income tax is not the only tax Americans pay. And finally, the protests are not just about taxation but about his out-of-control spending and ideas of government-control of the economy in general.

[Thales]

Here are a few possibilities.

1. Obama is going to only tax the 5%, and only a little bit more. This will have us trillions in deficit and doubling our debt.

2. Obama will oppressively tax that 5%, driving people out of America or from successful jobs. The people who create the wealth will get their wealth taken from them.

3. Obama will realize the folly in thinking he can squeeze every penny from the "super rich" (250K isn't super rich in Manhattan) and will tax us all more and more. That seems to be the most likely outcome.

Also, the "I'm going to raise taxes only 5% of the population more" is just a populist lie, and isn't acceptable anyway. Also, income tax is not the only tax Americans pay. And finally, the protests are not just about taxation but about his out-of-control spending and ideas of government-control of the economy in general.

The way I'd put it is that he will tax the wealth creators, and they are the ones who create the jobs. This means fewer jobs and fewer wealth creators. When you lose a job you're getting hit by taxes indirectly and very hard. Others will get pay cuts. And, of course, lots of those people receiving a "tax cut" don't pay taxes, and are really getting welfare.

Out of control spending is largely accomplished by inflating the currency. Inflation is a very sneak way of stealing from everyone, when the currency is inflated the value of the dollar drops. Think about your savings. If you have 10,000 in the bank, and currency is doubled, it will be reduced to 5,000 in value. This means people who have saved their money over a life time are losing their time and effort. That is morally reprehensible. In addition, the newly printed dollars will be given to those who didn't earn anything.

In addition to taxes there are regulations, which add a great burden to wealth creators, which can be as bad or worse than taxes.

There are also legal threats being used against wealth creators, which makes things much more uncertain for them, and makes them less likely to want to do the jobs.

Finally, we have the problem of fascism, i.e., the government taking control of corporations, just as they did GM. This eliminates a free market.

So, there are the big reasons why Obama is a disaster.

[khaight]

I don't see why people are having tea parties ...isn't Obama giving tax breaks to 95% of the people in America?

At the time of the original Boston Tea Party, it was actually cheaper to buy legal, taxed tea than it was to buy smuggled, untaxed tea. But the colonists still objected, because the tax on tea was a concrete under a broader principle -- and that broader principle was in conflict with their liberty. Application of this historical lesson to the present day is left as an exercise for the student.