We Are All Tea Partiers Now

On Feb. 7, 2009, the cover of Newsweek magazine proclaimed, "We Are All Socialists Now." Since then, much has transpired, including the sale of Newsweek (the business entity) to the highest bidder for $1. Now, 1 1/2 years later, a more poignant cover story might be "We Are All Tea Partiers Now."

The Tea Party is the leading edge of a "Great Awakening" in America. In many ways, it appears to have the force and vitality of one of the religious awakenings that have occurred throughout our nation's history. It is more than a populist movement. It is more than a reactionary group expressing voter dissatisfaction and anger. It can't be boiled down to election results. It will not be co-opted neatly by the Republican Party. It is something much, much bigger.

The Tea Party movement represents a resounding declaration of the end of big, overreaching government.

Our nation is in the grip of an overwhelming, seemingly inescapable malaise, not because our government hasn't done enough for us, but because it has tried to do too much. Over the decades, "government" has mutated into "big government," and its weight is killing us. Recent massive efforts to stimulate the economy or save certain sectors of it through increased government intervention and spending, far from helping us, have only added to the fog of uncertainty and oppression.

Washington's presumed role of always knowing what is best for every aspect of our lives is over. One by one, people are waking up and realizing that perhaps they know what is best for themselves, their families, their local communities and their states. The Tea Party movement is not just an expression of disfavor with how things get done in government. It is the promise of a tectonic shift of decentralization and reduction of government.Here is more