On the 15th of April 2009, a man by the name of Dr. John David Lewis, an associate professor of philosophy, politics and economics at Duke University in North Carolina, made a strong speech to a crowd of Tea Party supporters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The speech in question, consists of a very strong and constructing argument that starts with a semi-rhetorical opening:
"It's a great day for a tea party and high-time for a tea party, is it not?"
He states that the reason for the gathering is to celebrate the founding of America, and to consider the "crisis" that has supposedly grown for the last three generations in the U.S.
He calls the reason that people have chosen to gather and protest there "A genuine, deserved and righteous sense of outrage as to what has happened to this country." He may have chosen to phrase his words like this in order to connect with the tea party supporters' passion and strong beliefs that their country has been 'misled' by the government, and that as a person of significant knowledge and identity, can reaffirm to them that they are right to be angry and opposed to the way that the country is run.
What makes this speech particularly bold and interesting is when Dr. Lewis informs the protesters that the emotions they feel are not enough to guide them to a "Proper future", and that what they instead need is to act on the "original tea party's meaning", the "Rights of man."
I feel that this is significant because it draws a basis for the argument to be supported by, and this personal nostalgia of the nation's pre-history really gives backing to the Tea Party's voice. The rights that Dr. Lewis talks about, which all Americans share are:
. "The right to life.",
. "The right to liberty",
. "The right to the pursuit of happiness",
. "The right to property".
He uses these to remind the audience that they are the core foundation ideas that the nation is built on. His own personal belief is that without these rights, "It [the U.S.] cannot and will not endure."
John Lewis then explains how these rights can be used to imply about how Americans see themselves. As an "Independent individual, standing tall" or a "Whining, snivelling, dependent, bound to beg to some higher power, some monarch, some king, some Lord for the things you need for your life."
I think that this statement is somewhat controvertial as it may offend some religious members in the audience, who may devote some of their dependence to their beliefs, however for those who are not it can be seen as very bold and challenging to those who want to be in control of their own life.
Lewis keeps the nostalgia flowing, telling the crowd about how the surpressed American farmers had driven the British troops from American shores, sparking the great revolution, freeing the American people and establishing the U.S. He also talks about how the rights of men had to be "deepened" and "extended" in order to eliminate slavery and to give women more rights.
During, what is the second part of the speech, he reverts back to the reason why they are at the Tea Party rally, and this is to fight, what he calls a "Cancer" which he says has "Implanted itself" into the nation, and the minds of the people. The"Symptoms" as he calls them, are a "Corruption and a perversion of the idea of rights." What he claims is that rights mean nothing in the modern America, as they have been "Cut and destroyed" to the point where their meanings are gone.
He asks rhetorically, "What are the meanings of rights today?" to which he answers very honestly: "They mean rights to every whim and wish and desire you might have!" meaning that rights have been stretched to completely include the demands of all American citizens, and the government will provide the means for you to do so. Therefore meaning that the government has the ultimate power and jurisdiction to give you what you want, and will often tell you what you can and can't have. However the reality is that you must go to the government and ask for what you want, and this is what drives Dr. John Lewis to oppose big-government.
He states that people are being "Enslaved" in order for you as an American citizen to recieve something. He uses the example for someone being given a car, who is essentially "enslaving tax payers to provide you with that car."
I think the use of the word "Enslaved" in his speech is a very provocative way of getting people's attention. Especially when he suggests that the American people are being enslaved through taxes for the possessions of other people.
During the closing minute of John Lewis' speech, he encourages protestors to go home and tell their children that they should ignore what their teachers and professors tell them that "Rights mean they have a duty to serve somebody else in order to satisfy their whims." And instead that they have the right to follow the rights of man, with the only duty being to themselves to "Be the best person they can be when they live their own life."
He closes by saying that the only way to save the country is to pass the idea on, and spread the message so that everyone understands.
I think that by communicating in this way, by creating the awareness that the government is supposedly spreading corruption through taxes, Dr. John Lewis gives the Tea Party a voice and more popularity, through feeding on the shared dislike of having hard working citizens' money taken away by the government, and by creating connections through common familiarities such as families and wanting to do the best possible to protect them. I feel that this speech continues to add strength to the cause of the Tea Party because it reinstates the fact that people's rights are being subjected to scrutiny, and the foundations that many Americans have great pride in are losing the authenticity that gave America its own identity in contrast with the "corrupt world" that the founding fathers claimed it would not a part of.
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