So there’s this big teabag protest going on down in DC today, more of what we’ve seen. But this photo in particular, from the Washington Independent, really struck me:
You know, I know these people. Not this woman in particular; maybe not even of the people who are actually at the rally. But I know people like them. I love people like them, I am related to some of them. I know who they are, and I know where this sentiment comes from.
They are middle class, but slipping. For some reason, they attribute none of the erosion in their standard of living to the Republican Party. Yes, if you get into a detailed discussion with them they’ll acknowledge that both parties bear responsibility - which is true. But they never hold the Republican Party culpable to the same degree they want to blame the Democrats. There are reasons for this, which we’ll get into in a moment.
They really do feel only Fox News is giving them the truth. The reality is, only Fox News gives them the truth as they want it. Objectively, it’s impossible to believe that all other sources of television news - MSNBC and CNN and ABC Nightly News and CBS and NBC - are biased, and this one channel is the sole truth-teller. But they really do believe that. Because they want to.
A great many of these people used to be Democrats, but Ronald Reagan changed that. Or, they came of age politically in the time of Reagan, or in the shadow of his memory and legacy. Bottom line, they see Reagan as one of the truly titanic presidents in our nation’s history, and if they’re old enough they remember the malaise under Carter, the loss of Vietnam, the sense of national decline in the 1970s that Reagan stopped. Reagan made America proud again - made them proud again. They are forever in his debt for that, forever in his party’s debt.
They are angry, but they’re not really clear on what they’re angry about. Government spending? Mention the degree to which it took off under Bush and you get a blank look. Socialism? A good number of them depend upon Medicare. I know several - it’s amazing, really - who work for government at some level, and enjoy a level of benefits, sometime in retirement, completely unknown to us in the private sector.
They are cheerleaders for “capitalism” even though they are among capitalism’s victims. If they or a spouse has managed to claw their way to a public job - with ironclad benefits - they somehow believe that this is a product of capitalism.
There’s an ideological incoherence. What are their beliefs? And the reality is - and I don’t think I’m being too harsh here, I think this is true - their beliefs are whatever Fox News says they are. They are absolutely capable of mourning the unanimity of “9/12,” as Glenn Beck calls it. But then they back Beck when he calls the president a racist, not understanding that Beck, and ultimately they themselves, are helping to undermine the unity they supposedly mourn.
And in the end, there’s anger. They didn’t vote for change, but now change is being foisted upon them and they greatly resent it. They refuse to hold the party of Reagan culpable for anything. Bush has been completely erased from the memory bank. They were huge Bush supporters - now it’s as if he never existed. Bush’s failures were his failures; not their own. They supported him wildly, voted for him gladly… and bear no culpability whatsoever for him.
Indeed, I think they see the Obama presidency as a repudiation not just of Bush, but of themselves - which is one of the big things they resent. How dare you. How dare you say Republicans screwed up. I’ll watch Fox News where it’s all the Democrats fault, and then not only do I have to not take any personal responsibility for the Bush years - I can pretend there’s nothing to take responsibility for, that all of this - the spending, the state of the nation - can be pinned on Obama and Nancy Pelosi. As if they just got here.
It’s a very simple and simplistic view but then these are simple people. And they see it all slipping away. The America they knew - Reagan’s America - is fading into the rearview mirrow. Their country’s place in the world isn’t as secure; their place in the world is less secure. They want a restoration but they know in their hearts that they can’t turn back the clock, that not just America but the world has changed immeasurably. Morning in America inevitably turns to eve. They know this.
They fight viciously but they realize, deep down, that their fight is already lost. That’s why they’re so angry. It’s an anger borne of despair.
And as the despair grows, so too will the anger.
