Tea Party Held at Jackson County Court House

Is the “Silent Majority” finally waking up?

A large group of concerned citizens assembled on the lawn of the Jackson County Court House at noon on Tax Day (April 15) as participants in a nation wide tax and spend protest against the policies and actions of the current administration in Washington, DC. Across the nation, over 2000 cities were involved in the protest action, as thousands of our nation’s citizens took time to participate.

The function was called a “Tea Party”, symbolically referring to the Boston Tea Party which occurred in our nation’s pre-revolutionary period in protest of the high taxation levels being levied on the colonies by Britain. Eventually the taxation and other abuses from the Mother country led to the onset of the Revolutionary War, and our independence as a nation.

The program began with a beautiful rendition of the national anthem sung by the trio of Meghan Gilliland, Emily Mathis, Elizabeth Mathis, an opening prayer, and the pledge of allegiance. The moderator was Larry Brock, who was also one of the function organizers. Brock related how the media and the government has already labeled anyone who attends these Tea Parties a “Right Wing Activist”. There were three featured speakers for the occasion.

First, Wendell Brock, an educator for over thirty years, reviewed the origins of our nation and the meaning of the Boston Tea Party. He stressed the fact that this movement was a “grass root” force of protest which is rising across the nation as citizens realize the basic concepts of our Democracy are in peril. “If we continue to become subservient to Government, in a few years we will not be able to meet as we are now to speak, sing, and pray”, Brock stated. “Our rights come from God, not from Government. The liberal, socialist movement is attempting to remove God and take all property and personal rights”.

Next, Sybil Andreasen delivered a stirring speech as she stated “Our Democracy is at risk! How much time do we have left? Not much as fast as those seeking power are moving! She reviewed the six phases a Democracy passes through as it succeeds, rises to glory, becomes complacent, is overcome with apathy, becomes dependent on Government, and finally fails. She stated that over 40% of our population has already become dependent on Government, and the other 60% is apathetic. Historically, the lifetime of a Democracy is around 200 years, and that is the age of our nation. “ A Democracy fails when those who are dependent become the majority, and they realize they have access to the national treasury.”

Then came a firecracker speech by Elaine Thomas. She said her main qualification was that she is a “Citizen who is MAD as Hell!” Elaine reviewed several bills which are in the planning or pre-implementation stage in Washington. These include the “pork filled budget which our legislators did not even take time to read”, the planned youth development program which she compared to Hitler’s Youth Corps, socialized medicine, and the misuse of the stimulus funding. She yelled, “No more bailouts!” as the crowd cheered.

Finally, she encouraged all in attendance to do six things: (1) Sign the petition which will be sent to our legislators, (2) Call legislators on your cell phone and tell them to STOP this wasteful spending, (3) E-mail all legislators and tell them to STOP spending, (5) Stay involved and informed as this movement continues, and (6) PRAY for the USA!

For a quickly organized, spontaneous event, it was very well done. All who attended came away inspired and glad they attended. It is noteworthy that no elected officials from our National, State, or County offices took time to attend. The event will be shown on CCTV Channel 4 in the near future. It is recommended you take time to watch.