When I walked through the front door of the sanctuary, to my left I noted a counter that I would have taken for a bar in settings other than a church. Behind the counter were several people who were advising members on signing a petition. It was quite busy. I discovered that the cause at hand was the Fair Education Act - SB 48. The act, passed by the California Legislature this July and signed by Governor Jerry Brown, would add LGBT people to the list of other underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups who have contributed historically to political, economic and social evolution here in
The meeting rolled to order and someone I knew named Ron was evidently in charge. Meanwhile, a gentleman named Andy who seemed to know what was going on in the church had purloined an electric guitar from the front of the church where it was arranged with drums and other musical instruments. Andy settled down on a front pew with the instrument that was energized at this point as he demonstrated several times. As it turned out, Andy was in charge of issuing a loud twang when speakers overstayed their allotted time or when they drifted into topics he adjudged to be "negative." As the meeting progressed I was honestly expecting a lot more twangs than were actually produced. Ron spoke only briefly and then Andy, whom I assumed to be the pastor of the church, rose to lead a prayer that was addressed to the Father in the name of Jesus. Andy then christened the evening by adding that "this is a church thing." I was beginning to see that Christian fundamentalism was one the underpinning beliefs in this Tea Party assembly. Then came "The Pledge of Allegiance." I couldn't help wondering, while we were all standing with our right hands on our hearts, how many of the members gathered this evening knew that "The Pledge" had socialist origins in the person of Edward Bellamy who wrote it in 1898. I mean, I believe that's how "Justice for all" found its way into this socialist ritual.
I said earlier that the woman tending the clip board full of "No on Non-discrimination" petitions was gray-haired. No. Her hair was obviously tinted/colored blond. And she wasn't having more fun. Her hair style resembled a wide-bell shaped mushroom with an enlarged lip at the bottom that made me think of rolls of cookie dough. I couldn't help wondering why she didn't just let it remain gray. At her age she surely should have overcome the internalized oppression of ageism that is so rampant in our culture.
The older woman, absorbed in getting her quota of signed petitions for the evening, was not the only senior citizen present. In fact, with the exception of perhaps three people in the meeting, all of the white attendees were senior citizens. The irony that kept occurring to me about this all white, all senior assemblage was that they were all beneficiaries of "entitlement" programs, Social Security, Medicare and possibly Medicaid. I kept asking myself, "How in the world do you convince people to vote against their own self interest?" They are against government ... except for defense spending. I can't help thinking what will most likely happen after the 2012 election. A Tea Party Congress and a Tea Party President will surely press ahead with Congressman Paul Ryan's dismantling of Medicare. I can just see the looks on the faces of all of us seniors when we exchange Medicare for a voucher with which we will be able to shop for private health insurance. From what I understood of the Ryan plan that our own Congress Member, Wally Herger voted for, Medicare will be replaced by a voucher worth one-third of the current cost of our Medicare. And, lest it be forgotten, Obama Care will be abolished along with the provision that private insurers will not be able to deny coverage due to prior medical conditions. Medical care will be rationed according to your ability to afford it and your good fortune of not having prior conditions. Each of us seniors will be just one major medical event away from losing our homes and what's left of our 401 K's.
At any rate, getting back to the Tea Party meeting, I noted that the petition lady appeared to have me under surveillance as though she expected me to attack the other kids on the playground. However, this was a church setting. This vigil , in which the petition lady was pivoted around in her pew so as to keep me in her line of sight, reminded me of the time I was curious about why a local church had literally garrisoned their property with "Yes On Proposition 8" signs. The church still runs an ad in the Mount Shasta Herald every Wednesday declaring that "Everyone is Welcome." Somehow I didn't feel that was sincere.
In an effort to find out more about the church, I looked them up on the Internet. I found an email link to the pastors so I fired off a question: "What do your gay and lesbian parishioners think of your attempt to withdraw marriage equality rights from them?" I never received an answer. But before I left their web, I came upon their church constitution. Appended to the document was an amendment detailing their clearly stated policy on homosexuality. It said, in essence, that anyone found to be homosexual could not be a member of the church or be employed as staff or volunteer. That explained the silence of the gay and lesbian members of the congregation regarding the church's outspoken stance against marriage equality. Those members definitely do not tell. I found reading on a little further, that homosexuals were welcome to attend worship services "providing they conduct themselves in a manner that is not disruptive or disrespectful of our services." http://www.snowcrest.net/efc/Constitution%20&%20By-Laws2.pdf.
The last time I caused a notable disturbance in church, I’m told, was when I was an infant. My Mom was burping me on her shoulder over cloth diaper (remember those?). To make a long story short, when I did finally release the offending gas, I over shot the mark a bit and barfed full force on Frances Hardcastle who was unfortunate enough to be sitting within range. I ruined her dress. I haven't been nearly so disruptive in church since then.
Getting back to the Tea Party meeting, Ron, speaking over the church sound system with his notes arranged on a music stand, reviewed the three underpinning principles of the Mount Shasta Tea Party: 1) Limited Government, 2) Fiscal Responsibility 3) Adherence to the Constitution. I noted that principle "3" in this Tea Party gathering differed from the one I found on the Internet where it is replaced by "Free Markets." This enumeration of the principles led directly into the passing of the tea pot in order to cover lights, heat and air. Ron outlined the evening as falling into two main sections: the general session for the first hour followed after a short break by the convening of the separate action groups that would be meeting in various corners of the sanctuary. The new people, (that's me) were going to meet with Ron.
Ron introduced Matt who came to the microphone carrying a well worn olive green copy of The Rape of Justice, written by Eustace Mullins. According to the Wikipedia article I reviewed, Eustace has the reputation of being an anti-Semite. Moreover, he is regarded as a very influential author in the genre of conspiricism. Matt, himself, was well-versed in the specifics of the tome. He had obviously spent long hours reviewing the degradation of common law that devolved into merchant law. Matt wore his pants high up on his belly and this gave him the overall appearance of a character who might have been paired with Cousin Minnie Pearl on the Old Time Opry. I got the impression also that Matt was often a speaker in these general sessions. There was the specter of an anticipatory "twang" that hung in the air. He had a lot of dates, facts and historical personages to address in the short time allotted to him.
At this point the specific chairs of action groups were given the opportunity to report on their individual activities. The lady in charge of gathering anti-nondiscrimination signatures to prevent the teaching of homosexuality in
Andy, who is in charge of preparedness issues, summarized for the meeting the important aspects of being ready for what is coming. In terms of financial issues, Andy urged the purchase of precious metals, specifically silver. In homes water and food should be stored. Self-protection should be covered with hand guns, martial arts and the like. Spiritual preparedness should also be a focus - where will you go if you die. Medicinal needs should be looked at and Andy pointed to the bouquet of weeds he had gathered that were on display in the entry way to the sanctuary. He would be delighted to go over each species of weed in regard to its medicinal and nutritional value. There were allusions to the environmental and emigrations groups, but no reports were offered.
Next to speak was the chair person who appeared to be in charge of monitoring legislation in
A member named Sam next described a proposal he had developed for a Border Patrol. He was excited to report that our Congress Member, Wally Herger had said, "Yes, and get it to me."
Ron, who was still functioning as the moderator for the evening, pointed to the need he sensed for getting the membership up in this Tea Party group. Lorenzo volunteered to pursue this. In addition, it was pointed out that Steve, the editor of the Mt. Shasta Herald had been invited but was not present this evening. Another woman, younger by far than the rest of us, signaled her interest in spreading the word by social media such as FaceBook. Both she and her husband were new comers as it turned out and were a part of the new comers group headed by Ron during the Action Groups section that followed this general session. It was shared that the Redding Tea Party was actually having teaching sessions in which a technically savvy member was enabling Tea Partiers to use this tool.
At this point in the meeting, the flow of events seemed to break up into snippets or even sound bites. For example, one member offered the warning that the Republican Party may be faced with a split in candidates such as happened when Theodore Roosevelt ran as a Bull Moose against the nominated Republican in 1916 thus paving the way for Woodrow Wilson to win a second term. This was seen as a conspiratorial tactic that must be anticipated.
Other warnings were issued: Ron pointed out the danger of "Agenda 21." This is a United Nations initiative designed to assist emerging nations with sustainable economic development. The very word "sustainable" appears to be problematic for Tea Party members. It kind of resonates with environmental regulation which is seen as a threat to jobs and
At this, Walter, sitting all the way in the rear of the sanctuary gathering ejaculated, "No teacher unions, no public employee unions." Other comments included the guidance that "letters to the editor" be signed "Concerned Citizen." Someone else, whom I did not identify added that George Soros was picking radicals in both parties. To this observation, Ron added that both parties were "going left." Still another member pointed out that the Federal Reserve was "owned by the Queen." This thought brought up the idea once again that we need "fiscal responsibility."
Ron then began a litany of scary world organizations who were seeking a one-world order. These included the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the United Nations along with the Federal Reserve. Another member was stimulated at this point to suggest that the Mt. Shasta Tea Party Patriots sponsor the erection of a topical sign reading, "End the Fed."
The discussion then drifted into the materials to be offered to people inquiring at the Tea Party booth at the Siskiyou County Fair. The Constitution was named as the number one choice of items to offer as "kids don't know what the Constitution is about." There should also be sheets against "sustainability" and removal of the damns on the
Andy, the pastor, then urged members to see the DVD, Agenda. The film depicts how progressives are planning to take over the country and then having done that, to move on to the world. The film, it was reported, demonstrates how this will all be accomplished in collusion with the Communist Party of America. Fifteen to twenty-year-olds are a particular target. A personal note here: I am aware of the Communist Party of the
In the closing moments of the general session of the Mt. Shasta Tea Party there were exhortations to have more clip boards and signs available so that people in the community could know to become involved. It was pointed out that Steve is a professional sign painter and could help with this. Ron was a little discouraged by the lack of involvement locally. He observed that Mount Shasta and
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