Attending the 912 Taxpayer March on Washington D.C. provided me with memories that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. Marching side-by-side with millions of other Americans whom believe in the values of limited government and free-market capitalism was truly electrifying.
The March was scheduled to depart from Freedom Plaza, close to the White House, at 11:30 AM. Walking from the hotel to the plaza I could see people streaming in from all directions. It reminded me of columns of ants marching toward an unattended picnic basket. What started out as handfuls merged into dozens, then hundreds, then thousands as these columns descended upon their target. The orderly columns observed a few blocks earlier congealed into an amorphous mass of humanity as my wife and I arrived at the plaza around 9:30 AM. We were thankful that we had the foresight to arrive two hours early, giving us ample time to find the contingent from Michigan.
This sea of humanity continued to build as the clocked ticked toward the scheduled departure time. In short order the crowd became so large that organizers started the march one hour early to relieve the pressure building up in the plaza. This early start was confirmation that today’s crowd would be of monumental size.
As the day progressed we waded through the masses to soak up the entire experience and view the many creative signs and t-shirts. People were very friendly as we stopped to chat and photograph their creative messages. Every now and again others would ask us to pause briefly so they could get a good snapshot of our protest tools. It was quite flattering when others found my message to be inventive enough to warrant a snapshot. The spirit, behavior, and friendliness of those in attendance made me proud to be an American.
Being there in person is the only way to capture the totality of an event like this. Without being a participant there is no way to adequately capture both the content and the “feel” of this historical march. With this thought in mind I asked myself, “How would today’s experience be captured in the news media?” As I viewed the day’s events on TV I was disturbed, but not surprised, that political leaders supporting ObamaCare injected racism into the discussion. During the Fox Report at 7:30 on Saturday, Jehmu Greene, a former political director of the DNC (Democrat National Committee), stated that protesters carried Confederate flags and racist caricatures of Obama. In response to this race-baiting assertion I quote a now famous American, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, “You Lie!”
Contrasting Ms. Greene’s characterization with what I saw and experienced first-hand during the event provided me with an educational lesson that I’ll be forever grateful for. Now that someone has played the race card on me I have seen for myself there are political leaders that foment racial divide to move their leftist-agenda forward. People like Ms. Greene falsely claim the mantle of racial equality as they attempt to divide America along racial lines. It is crystal clear, average Americans fighting against ObamaCare have to develop thicker skin and get beyond the discomfort of being labeled as racist by their political foes (and the mainstream media). The only racism I see connected to the 912 Taxpayer March comes from political leaders on the Left that support Obama’s socialist policies.