Introduction

Do you have a list of essential backpack items for weekend trip?

I read the text from my mom, shocked. My mom is a woman who has never had a fondness for the outdoors and who fits better at the pool side at the country club than alongside a mountain side stream. What could have possibly have led her to take an interest in camping? Was she merely taking on a new hobby with her husband? Was this a new transformation?

I called her to ask what she had planned. The conversation started out innocently enough:

- Guess what? I learned how to make a stove out of tuna cans and some tin foil!

-That’s great, Mom. What is this all about? Where are you going?

- Well, you know, I was at this convention and I met these people. I know, they are a little out there, but they are so nice.

- What convention, who are they? I replied, still amused that my mom was learning these skills.

- You know, the survivalists at the tea party meetings. We are going to learn how to hunt this weekend. I’m going to kill a deer!

My mom has always been conservative, but this is nothing shocking. We are from the South, white, and of Christian stock. When I was young, I didn’t particularly think of her as conservative. She was clearly religious and deeply involved in the Presbyterian church. But in comparison with the status quo, she probably fit more or less in the middle. Politics were rarely discussed: not because it was taboo, but because she just wasn’t interested.

The last 15 years, however, have brought about a significant change in the way that conservatives like my mom live their private and public lives. That change was brought about by the internet, which more so than any other technology, has allowed people with fringe beliefs to join together and realize that they are not alone.

Several months ago, I was with a friend at the Guggenheim in New York looking at an exhibit on how technology influences trends in art. My friend said, “I think it’s wonderful how the internet opens the world up to everyone. How can you people be close minded when the truth is so apparent?” But I believe that most people seek out information to validate what they already think and systematically ignore evidence that doesn’t fit into their particular ideology. The internet empowers this process with a simple Google search.

The Tea Party movement terrifies me. Now more than ever we need progressive ideas to combat climate change (which Teabaggers deny has anything to do with humans), adopt universal health care (which Teabaggers are opposed to), and improve and liberalize our public education system (which Conservatives want to simultaneously control and eliminate). We need to understand what it is that Teabaggers want and try to find common ground. I want to use this blog to explore what the Tea Party movement is and to discuss ideas of Conservatism in general. At the end of the day, Teabaggers have legitimate complaints. Misguided perhaps both in query and solution, but bred from their own particular fears and struggles. The ideological battle, however, is real and will be played out in elections, education, and policy. We cannot let them win this battle.

I am the son of a teabagger. I will not stand silent.