That was an interesting article by Jim Spencer and Curtis Ellis “From Woodstock to the Tea Party” (BDN Feb. 27-28). However, being a baby boomer myself, I would like to comment further on the subject of the Tea Party Nation.
I do agree with the writers of this column that this rather loud bunch of middle-age baby boomers are a bit narcissistic, just want to be heard and lack substance. However, to make any reference between the tea partiers and the ’60s counterculture is a stretch.
You’ve heard the adage that typically 10 percent of the people do 90 percent of the work. This applies to almost any situation and it also applied to the ’60s counterculture. Those who were bringing real change were few. The popularity of the culture brought along many who supported these changes, but only as long as the popularity lasted.
Typically, the 10 percent who were serious back then about an anti-corporate and pro-nature outlook are still serious today. Sad to say, though, many of my generation who shared that view once are now, as we like to say, part of the problem.
In our adolescence many of us came along for the ride because it seemed cool. There were bell bottoms, peace signs, tie-dyed T-shirts, long hair and really good music (not to mention the sex and drugs). But when the fun died out, guess where Mr. and Mrs. Narcissist went? Back to the safe and sound cushion of the corporate world.
The fact that a CNN poll found tea partiers to be higher-educated and wealthier than the average American did not surprise me. You don’t have to be poor to be true to your counterculture values, but when you sell your soul to the corporate elite, then don’t be surprised when the bottom drops out.
Now that it’s time to pay the fiddler, these tea partiers are striking back like lost hunters in the woods shooting blindly at any noise they hear in the dark. When you support Sarah Palin and pay $500 at a rally to hear her speak, you’re also supporting big oil, big pharma, the insurance companies and lobbyists paid by corporations to proclaim that man-made climate change is a hoax.
The real counterculture knew back then that supporting the Sarah Palins of the world meant that you more than likely would be supporting the financial moguls who eventually would do things such as raise interest rates in order to steal people’s homes, get bailed out by the government, take the money and run and basically cause the financial ruin we are now experiencing.
So to say that these tea partiers were part of the counterculture just because they once wore love beads and sandals is misrepresenting the true idealists of the time. Those who were true to their ideals never did follow the “I want mine” crowd and will not be bought out simply by being handed the sugar cubes of the corporate elite. They’re too busy trying to set a good example for the next generation to follow.
Tom Newman of Blue Hill is a poet and half of the musical duet Timbered Lake.