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Jesse Corn's column, "Tea party anger is merely destructive" is a great illustration of true-narrow minded ignorance.
In it, he describes the public upset over the direction of our country in terms like prisoners and childish. Corn's column demonstrates his lack of understanding of both the nature of our country and the citizens whose participation is necessary to sustain it.
Corn states that the tea party movement proposes to "build nothing, make nothing and argue nothing." In one slight moment, a sliver of truth arises. The tea party movement is not about building itself. It is not about creating a new political party. It is not about serving itself.
It is about people. It is about citizens. It is about being actively American. It is about hearing people discuss the 10th Amendment for the first time in their lives. It is about the founders, who rightly began the preamble to the Constitution with the words, "We the People."
Corn says that these Americans are involved in a takedown of the federal system. Sadly, that system is already broken. It is people like those in the tea party movement who want to restore the system. The founders would recognize neither the size, scope or intrusiveness of today's central government.
Someone must stop the massive federal spending before the nation is bankrupt. Even Corn seems to agree with that premise. But he does not seem to believe that a phenomena like the tea party movement can be anything but destructive.
I'd suggest getting a copy of that ancient document called the U.S. Constitution. In it, we are reminded that this nation has power dispersed in three ways. There was to be a limited federal government and a more robust set of state authorities. But any power not granted to these was reserved for the people.
The tea party movement is the epitome of America's representative republic. It is the duty, honor and privilege of citizens to determine the direction of this great nation. I am sorry Jesse Corn does not agree.
David Smith
Flowery Branch