The Tea Party Movement Is a National Embarrassment

Last summer, when mass protests broke out in Iran following what was seen as a rigged election, Americans cried out in support of the uprising through all possible channels. Some commentators here went so far as to claim credit for the "revolution," as if it never could have happened without American political movements having already set the example. But despite the arrogance of that claim, the Iranian Green movement is indeed an exertion of democratic will that resonates closely with many Americans -- and for good reason.

America's rich history of successful social and political movements, from its genesis onward, lends profound familiarity to the Iranian uprising, most of which has remained nonviolent. The enduring American symbolic identity -- as a bastion of freedom and opportunity -- is mostly justified when one considers the relative success of the Civil Rights or Feminist movements of the 20th Century, or of the ongoing LGBT rights movement, which continues to make incremental gains today. American democracy, fueled by an active populace -- despite its numerous imperfections -- remains the gold standard around the world.

It is against this venerable historical backdrop that one regrettably must concede that the most well known, highly publicized American social/political movement today -- the Tea Party movement -- is a national embarrassment.

At its core, the Tea Party movement is rife with contradiction, incoherence and a willful contempt for facts or reason. It is but a parody of the legitimate movements for which American democracy has historically been held in such high regard. It is, in fact, the latest installment in quite another American tradition: The exploitation of frustrated, desperate, and susceptible people by monied interests and profiteers.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stuart-whatley/the-tea-party-movement-is_b_455883.html