Political Activism has not been my "cup of tea", however, 2009 seemed a good time to brew a cup.

Taking a page from our Founding Fathers, I first attended a tax day tea party on April 15th right here in Athens.  There were more in attendance than I though there would be and suprisingly, we met many of our friends and neighbors there.  I found that we all had a common concern.  It wasn't just the "bailouts" of the banks and GM and Chrysler, nor was it the bloated budget and "stimulus package".  It was an overwhelming fear that the federal and state governments were accelerating towards total control of our personal rights.  In other words, what we feared was tyranny.

The first tea party led to attending a second one on July 4th.  Actually, I doubled up and attended two parties that day, one in Gun Barrel City and one in Athens.  By that time, all of us were worried about "cap and tax" and health care reform.  In addition, I continued to be concerned with the intrusion of the government into the family and as a result, manned a booth at both "tea parties" to obtain signatures on a petition to amend the Constitution with the "Parental Rights Amendment".  We also educated everyone about the "UN Convention on the Rights of the Child," which will greatly impact parental rights in this country if ratfied by the U.S.Senate. 

In August, we took the petitions to visit the offices of our Texas U.S. Senators, John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison.  Unfortunately, both failed to come to Texas during the August recess to meet with their constituents, so we met with their staffs.  We were able to present 40 plus pages of the petition in support of the parental rights amendment. Whether our senators will act on the will of the people remains to be seen, however.

The next step appeared logical to me. I would join the "Taxpayers March on Washington D.C." on September 12, 2009.  We left on September 5th and leisurely enjoyed the journey.  We arrived on September 9th and settled in for the weekend of activities. 

And what an adventure we had. On September 10th, we headed to the train station for our first trip on mass transit.  We were like fish out of water, as far as the Metro was concerned.  Of course, we were not alone, as many tourists and tea partiers were also trying to figure out how to buy a ticket and find the right train.  We managed to get on the right train and we headed down to the DC Armory where a rally sponsored by Freedomworks was to be held.  When we entered the armory it looked nothing like a thought an armory would look.  The main area appeared to me like a large gymnasium.  At one end was a stage and facing the stage was seating tiered up toward the ceiling.  There were already I would estimate around a thousand people there, listening to the speakers and at the end of each presentation, the audience was allowed to ask questions.  There was one lady there from Hawaii who asked a question.  That's when I knew, this protest is really nationwide.  We met folks from all over as well.  Maine, Alabama, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, California . . . and the list goes on, all of us there for one main purpose, which I would sum up as a protest to take back America and end the socialist agenda of both parties.

We spent part of the morning, hanging around in the backstage area where we met former Congressman, Dick Armey, who is one of the main organizers of Freedomworks.  Terry also videoed a very interesting situation. An ACORN representative crashed the meeting.  He had in tow a cameraman and was challenging our cause.  Two different men, one probably in his early thirties and another elderly gentlemen were in his face.  After Terry finished videoing this situation, a young man approached us, asking us what had transpired.  We informed him and he asked that we upload our video to Youtube so he could include it on his blog. All in all, we had a great time speaking with patriots from all over at the rally.

From there we headed over to the Upper Senate Park, which is on the Senate side of the Capitol.  As we headed over there on the train, we met some more folks and walked with them over to the Press Conference, which was to be held outside there.  When we walked by the Capitol, I noticed that the steps were barricaded off so no one could enter. I later found out that they didn't want any of us troublemakers in the Capitol.  It was just as well, I guess. The press conference was fraught with technical difficulties, as the sound system was not working at first. However, after they worked that out, we heard several more congressmen speak and challenge us to continue speaking out in our own communities. 

The most exciting part of the day was to come.  We headed back to the train station and I got the crazy idea to go by our Representative, Jeb Hensarling's office.  Terry opted to stay outside and I went into the office building.  What I saw there made me realize why our congress people want to stay in Washington.  The halls were cavernous and even the bathroom had an understated opulence.  Lots of marble and granite, I am guessing, lined the halls.  I made it to the office and of course, he was not there.  I left him a nice message and left to meet Terry out front.  When we arrived at the station, we once again were faced with the challenge of determining which train to embark upon to get back to our station.  As we were standing there, we struck up a conversation with a young lady, who we later learned was originally from Kuiwait.  Her family lived in Houston and she was in Washington attending college at the American University.  She told us she would help us get on the right train.  As the train approached, we headed for the platform.  The passengers who were leaving the train departed and Terry got on the train.  Just as I was about to enter, the doors slammed shut and when they close, there is no way to get them open again. So, picture this, my husband looking at me on the platform and it wasn't a warm fuzzy look either.  I went over to a bench and sat down, waiting for the next train.  The Metro is a color coded system and we knew we needed to get on the yellow line.  The problem was that I didn't think the train Terry departed on was the right color.  In fact, I was sure of it. I tried texting him to tell him he was on the wrong train, but I later learned that he and the young lady from Kuiwait had already figured that out.  I managed to get on the next yellow train and texted Terry again that I would meet him at the station.  When I arrived, there he was on the platform to meet me.  We then departed the station to find our car, which was parked in the parking lot.  We walked and walked and walked all around that lot, but couldn't find our car anywhere.  We talked to the parking lot attendant, who suggested that our car might be in the other lot. We didn't know there were two lots.  The parking attendant was merciful and offered to drive us to the other lot.  We were already pretty tired, so we took her up on her offer.  There was our car, just where we left it.  We then tried to leave the parking lot and learned that we had to have a special card which we had to go back to the station to buy.  That evening, Terry asked me if I really wanted to go to the march on Saturday after our troubles on the train that day.  I told him that I came to Washington for the march and that no matter what, we were going to be a part of history. 

The next day was our day to do the tourist thing and we decided to go to Mount Vernon.  It was an excellent choice, except for the walking.  Both of us were still pretty foot sore from the day before, but we did tour the home and learned some interesting facts about the Father of our Country.

We also moved to the Hilton that day, which was closer to Washington.  The hotel had been booked by Freedomworks, so there were lots of fellow patriots staying there.  We enjoyed visiting with the folks, who we found were just ordinary citizens, like ourselves.  Many of them said that they felt that they just had to be there.  We met many of our fellow Texans there and many of the others said they wished they lived in Texas because of the spirit of the people who live here and our well known independence.

Saturday morning dawned cloudy and cool.  It looked as though it might rain, but it never did.  I donned my "Taxpayers March" T-shirt and Terry wore his "A typical bitter white person, clinging to God and his guns" t-shirt and we were off the train station.  (He obviously made an excellent choice in apparel because all day long, people were stopping us, asking to take a picture of his shirt.  I think Glenn Beck, from whom I purchased it might consider giving us some kind of future discount, because I was telling everyone that they could buy the shirt on glennbeck.com.)   On the way, we saw few people.  When we arrived at the station, it was another story completely.  The station was crowded with people, carrying signs and bearing backpacks. We headed down the escalator to the platform and there were so many people standing on the platform, that they finally had to stop people from coming down the escalator, because there was no more room.  This was complicated by the fact that a train just completely died in front of us.  Someone yelled out that it was a conspiracy. I don't think so, because a few minutes later, the train was repaired and out of the way.  Our train came along and the doors opened.  There was already a crowd on board.  In fact, it was standing room only.  I grabbed a place to stand near a couple of teenage girls, who were identical twins. Both sported headbands with a teacup glued on top.  Their mother, sitting near by had a teapot on her headband.  All were carrying cute signs shaped like teacups.  Every stop we made, a few people left, but mostly we took on more people.  I didn't think we could handle anymore, but somehow, we squeezed together and made room.  When we reached our destination, almost everyone departed with us and up we went to Freedom Plaza.  We were supposed to rally at Freedom Plaza for a couple of hours before the march, but when we arrived there, the march volunteers told us to start marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.  Terry and I would march for awhile and then would stop for a breather.  There were benches along the street and it was simply amazing to see the number of people going by.  The street is at least four lanes wide, and the line of people marching along was continuous, with at least twenty people abreast.  We arrived at Freedom Plaza about 10 a.m. and when we finally reached the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol, the crowds were gigantic.  I have never in my life seen so many people in one place.  Estimates of 2 to 3 million were circulated throughout the day.  I don't know what a million people look like, but I can tell you for sure that it was awesome.  There were so many people there that we couldn't get close enough to hear the speakers.  So we milled around in the crowd and talked to those around us.  Without a doubt, the people were polite and well-mannered.  Everyone was telling everyone else thank you for coming.  Whenever we saw a veteran, we thanked them for their service.  The police were out in force, but had nothing to do.  No marchers were arrested that day.  We later heard from one of our new friends at the hotel that he talked to a policeman who said this was the most orderly crowd he had ever seen.  

I wondered as we returned whether we had really had any effect whatsoever on the politicians we wanted to get the message of fiscal responsibility and less government intrusion.  President Obama was out of town and most of the Congress were back home for the weekend.  So what did we accomplish?  The answer is that we all learned that we are not alone and that there is a great many who feel the same way we do.  It was good to do something other than yell at the TV.  Most everyone was talking about a return trip next year.  The question is not will I go, but how many I can take with me.  

The sleeping giant is now fully awake.  It seems to me that it would behoove the "powers that be" to be on guard.  We will return. 

Terry meets Dick Armey at the DC Armory Sept. 10, 2009

The man in the hat was purportedly from ACORN

 Terry in front of the Capitol

 Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) after his speech at the press conference in the Upper Senate Park

 Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) leaving the stage after his rousing speech to the 9/12 Patriots

 In front of the capitol on 9-10-09. We cannot enter

 Yes, that is a likeness of Jesus near the capitol on 9-10-09

 The U.S. Capitol - An awe-inspirng sight

 Mount Vernon Exhibit

View of the Potomac from porch at Mt. Vernon

 Mt. Vernon - Magnificent

 The Metro Platform on 9-12-09.  I told you it was crowded!

Hanging on for dear life on board the train 9-12-09

 
On our way to Freedom Plaza 9-12-09

The March 9-12-09

More of the march 9-12-09

 The March continues 9-12-09

The First Amendment - Long may it reign!

Terry enjoys the festivities

 The Reflecting Pool in the foreground 9-12-09

March 9-12-09

 More scenes from the March 9-12-09