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Tea Party (April 18): Philadelphia Retrospective

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spaceplayer

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I missed the event on April 15th, but made it out today for the one in the historic area, by the Liberty Bell. There was maybe 400 people in my estimation, but I'm bad at head counts. No media coverage, except for Pajamas TV. The camerawomen informed me that CBS, NBC, and ABC all refused to cover this event. Fox has an affiliate across the street from where we were, but there were not there, either. And I think the guides for the tourists purposely kept the crowds away from us.

The event itself? A lot of "God Bless America." A LOT. Philadelphia is a "neighborhood" city with a lot of Catholics, so we heard a lot of "the Founding Fathers were Christian, etc." You might think that a city such as Philadelphia would be a hotspot for this, but sadly, it just highlights the truth in Rand's words about the contradictions of the founder's ideas, and what they've led to. There was a Republican candidate presenting a speech, again, justifying the event on religious grounds. (How the people can protest the government, yet put their hope in a Republican candidate, well, just goes to show that there's a lot to be done.) I can honestly say that I was the only one there with anything Objectivist.* The second person holding my Atlas sign is a member of a local Objectivist meetup, and as far as I know, the only one who showed up. I didn't get any negative comments from the crowd, and I did get a handful of smiles and nods for it (as well as a couple who wanted their picture taken with the sign.) I did ask to speak, but I did so late in the game, and they were already booked up with time running out. I did, however, manage to get a few of the ARC fliers out directing people to the significance of Atlas Shrugged to the tea parties. At any rate, my sign had a dual purpose: olive branch and sword, and hopefully sent a message to the "religious" protesters that Atlas will not tolerate their "faith"; they, too, will be shrugged.

All in all, not a lot for an Objectivist to get hopeful about. The lack of media coverage, while sad, was not surprising. So, damn the media; today, I WAS the media. I made it my purpose to not let this event go unnoticed. I walked from the event to Rittenhouse Square with my sign, and sat in the park (it was a beautiful day) with my copy of Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. There were a ton of people out (even a group with signs giving out "Free Hugs." I walked by with my "Shrugged" sign. I found a bench, propped up my sign, and read (to myself, but openly). Rand's warnings about the conservatives being a greater hindrance than the liberals, and her observations on Socialism and Fascism brought today's events into perspective. Her words, written in the 60's, described everything today to a "t." Anyway, many people walked by, from all walks of life; some pointed out the sign to their husbands, some snickered, some smugly smiled in their Marxist U assurance that Capitalism has failed. But they know something went on today, and I think I sent the message that this is not just a tax revolt, but something larger, and something different than their "God Bless America."

Was there a lot to celebrate today? If the best they can offer is "God Bless America," then no. Philadelphia is home to the Declaration of Independence, and all the contradictions that came with the theistic side of the Founding Fathers. Philadelphia is, at best, a restrospective, a museum of the past, and will NOT be at the vanguard of the next phase. Rand's essays in CTUI ring the truth louder than that cracked Liberty Bell. The best I could hope for today was to plant some "seeds" of a real revolution.

(* For a view of the Tax Day tea party in Philly, check out this blog:http://aynrandteaparty.blogspot.com/2009/04/philadelphias-love-park-today.html. At least there were some O'ists representing that day.)

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Edited by spaceplayer
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  • 11 years later...

I despise religion, but it does not mean that the religious are not capable of thinking and drawing perfect conclusions.  I'll listen to anyone with the right facts and perspective.  For example, Brother Nathanael, a Jew converted to Orthodox Christianity, has the best take I have seen on the Rittenhouse incident, and he does it all without a religious slant.  He simply presents the facts:  https://www.bitchute.com/video/QjyGWreeGeoB/

 

As far as Objectivist activism goes, there are few left in the world anymore who even possess the aptitude to understand it, let alone speak intelligibly on the subject. The way I do it is simply carry a big sign that says:  "Who is John Galt?"  It stops them dead in their tracks and they start asking questions. Or they look puzzled and walk on.  My copper wrist band is stamped with it.  It should be everywhere.  It's carved in my camp axe.  My car has a bumper sticker.  It works.  

 

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