Tea Party People Not Nazis, Racists

To The Editor:
The Tea Party movement has been maligned in the press, electronic media and by our government leaders as resembling Nazis, and being comprised of racists and right wing lunatics. Having been to several Tea Party workshop meetings in the past and not experiencing any of that, I began to wonder if the media and those in power really knew what they were talking about.
A couple of weeks ago, my neighbor asked me to attend a Tea Party rally in Woodstown. I thought to myself if I was ever to going to understand what this Tea Party bashing was all about, a rally would be an ideal opportunity to experience these charges up close and personal. So I decided to take my wife along and headed on over there.
When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was that there were no Nazi flags, people running around with swastikas on their arms or any hint of an association with Nazism. What I did see were American flags in abundance along with all sorts of other patriotic displays. You know guys with Uncle Sam hats, tee shirts with American flags on them, that sort of thing. Then someone handed my wife and I a copy of the Constitution! How Nazi-like is that?
We made our way to our seats and began to listen to the speakers. As I scanned the crowd, I noticed a few things. There were Blacks, Asians and Latinos in attendance. Were they hired just for show? Were they plants, or were they there demonstrating? No, they were participating!
Actually several of the most popular speakers were Black, Asian and Latino. All are great Americans and all got a standing ovation. I began to think, what’s going on, could the “all knowing” media or that “political genius” Nancy Pelosi and others be missing the boat here?
As the speakers were making their points, would they be spewing right wing lunatic points of view? I waited to see. They discussed such revolutionary and anti-American topics as God in our lives, helping others in need without government interference, cherishing and protecting our freedoms and putting us back on track as a united and freedom-loving country once again. The rally leader openly honored past and present veterans and one speaker even went so far as to say that we had the right to assemble and share our points of view. Is this the ranting of right -wing lunatics?
Then it dawned on me. The media and those denigrating the Tea Party have no idea what they’re talking about. Sadly, in these times, that’s pretty much the norm. Today it’s all about political posturing, filtering information to meet an agenda and a dishonest distortion of the truth. You know, the media’s responsibility and moral obligation is to provide honest and accurate information to the citizens of this country. It’s our elected representatives’ responsibility to follow the wishes of their constituents and champion what the majority of voters want, not those of special interests and fringe groups. The media and our elected representatives fail miserably in their responsibilities. They should be embarrassed and humiliated of their actions.
JOHN ANTMAN
Villas