Tea Parties — VOICES for REASON

America is the nation of individualism and capitalism, but these values are being eroded—day-by-day, bailout-by-bailout, billion-by-billion, takeover-by-takeover.

That is why hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of Americans, myself included, will be protesting at Tea Parties this weekend. (I will be one of the speakers at the San Diego protest—if you’re in Southern California, please come and introduce yourself.)

Invoking the Boston Tea Party, one of the seminal events leading up to the American Revolution, we will be protesting against a government that seizes our wealth and our liberty in ways that King George could never have dreamed of.

But being against today’s government is not enough. What are we for—and why? A “free market”? Free from what, exactly? “Limited government”? Limited to what, exactly? When freedom is at stake, neither vagueness nor platitudes will do.

At the Ayn Rand Center, in the spirit of Atlas Shrugged, we stand for a separation of economy and state.

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In an article titled “What Can One Do?” (in Philosophy: Who Needs It), Ayn Rand said the following about what one person could do if he was concerned about the state of the world and wanted to improve it:

I will say the answer is “SPEAK” (provided you know what you are saying). A few suggestions: do not wait for a national audience. Speak on any scale open to you, large or small—to your friends, your associates, your professional organizations, or any legitimate public forum. You can never tell when your words will reach the right mind at the right time. You will see no immediate results—but it is of such activities that public opinion is made.

We’ve gathered together materials for those interested in speaking out at Tea Parties on July 4. Check out the Ayn Rand Center’s resources for speakers, attendees and advocates. Our web page dedicated to the Tea Parties has fliers that can be downloaded, sample speeches, and other articles. We’ve also created a number of videos that can be shared.

If you’re attending a Tea Party, and plan to use some of these resources, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to leave feedback at VFR to let us know about your event.

Here is a flyer I wrote for the upcoming Independence Day Tea Parties. Many of those attending today’s Tea Parties are fed up with the assault on freedom they read about in each morning’s paper–but they have no positive alternative to offer. If the Tea Parties are to have a lasting impact it will be because they go from being a grassroots outpouring of frustration to a movement that stands for limited government, individualism, and individual rights. This, I argue, is the value of Atlas Shrugged to Tea Party attendees: it provides a powerful and revolutionary defense of those ideals.

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Are you thinking of going to a Tea Party on July 4th? Is it because your tax dollars are being used to “stimulate” the economy and to bail out bad decision makers, and that seems unjust?  Because the money earned by responsible people is being confiscated and spent on rescuing those who are experiencing financial woes? Are you going because Washington’s policies seem unfair? Are you going for  justice – for yourself and for all hardworking Americans?

 We’ve all seen the bumper stickers: “Honk if you are paying your neighbor’s mortgage.” But is that all you are paying for? It’s time for a minivan full of new bumper stickers. Honk if you are paying for:

• Your neighbor’s children’s education.
• Your neighbor’s health care benefits.
• Your neighbor’s unemployment benefits.
• Your neighbor’s Social Security.
• Your neighbor’s electric bill.
• Your neighbor’s subsidized hybrid car. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I suggested that supporters of the upcoming tea parties need to base their protest on a consistent intellectual framework. The protests are right in spirit, but are lacking the clear and consistent principles necessary to sustain a real change in the culture. I referred readers to a talk by Onkar Ghate for an elaboration on what those guiding principles should be.

ARC has added a new page to our website with content that explores these issues further. Here you’ll find Dr. Ghate’s talk, along with articles, interviews and videos by ARC writers, essays and recordings by Ayn Rand, and free printable flyers to distribute at the protests. Please visit and spread the word.