When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
-Thomas Jefferson
THAT is what my sign says.
As much as my parents (and I) disagree with excusing me from school to make a statement, today was a special occasion. Temecula was having a Tea Party!
Just after Anatomy today I left school and headed down to the duck pond, just to, you know, check it out, stand there with a couple other people, just be another head to add to the count. Well, that is what I intended. I was unprepared for the honking and flag-waving and shouts of joy from nearly two thousand people! All of whom were there to let T-mec know that they were not going to stand for taxation without representation. In a single intersection, every corner held at least twenty people, with the corner by the duckpond holding well over one hundred.
Back behind the duck pond were even MORE people, with people talking on bullhorns and handing out stickers and being, in general, very peaceful and well-behaved. They weren't trying to start a war. They were not making plots to assassinate anyone. The people were simply exercising the vocal chords God gave them and the freedom of speech that the Founding Fathers fought for; that men died for.
Now, I must admit, I was apprehensive about leaving school for this thing, and it was NOT because I love Chaparral. I secretly (but I suppose that's no more) have a fear of public expression of...well...almost everything. Especially my political views. As much as I love the adrenalin of it all, I was terrified of going out there, just as I was terrified of standing on corners with "Yes on 8" signs. And when I say terrified, I mean I was shaking all throughout Anatomy (haha my anatomy was shaking in Anatomy). But I saw all the people and decided that no one was going to be a taxation supporter and pull a gun on all of us. Not to mention that would be very hypocritical, to support the people who want to ban guns by using a gun. (Guns don't kill people, gaping holes in vital organs kill people...if I can blame the murder on the gun, then I reserve the right to blame that misspelled word on the pen.)
All in all, I stayed at the protest longer than planned, but it was worth it. I spent half the time laughing in stupor. Don't get me wrong, I am MORE than happy to pay the taxes that pay for my education, my protection from people, my protection from fire, my protection from terrorists, my streetlights, and my judicial system. What I DON'T want to pay for are benefits for other people that I will never get to see again, stuff that's supposed to chill in a nice little fed bank for the next 40 years while I live a life. I don't want to pay for someone else's yacht. I don't want to pay for some hoo-hah to buy a nice house while my FRIENDS are kicked out of their own. That's just not cool.
Want to read awesome quotes from some dude that lived 200 years ago? Sweet, click HERE.
Just a check up on my daily life, well there isn't much to say. I promise you this has been the longest week of the school year, and the weather is making me nauseous with it's bipolar disorder, but STAR testing is next week, which means party time.
