William Brock opined in the pages of the Moscow / Pullman Daily News...

Independence Day is fast approaching, so if you're not robotically igniting fireworks, this might be a good time to reflect on life in these United States.

According to some participants of Saturday's Taxed Enough Already (TEA) rally in Pullman, Americans are losing their grasp on liberty, the Constitution and our system of free enterprise.

"People need to know what's going on and how close we are to being a socialized country," one TEA Party participant told the Daily News.

Maybe she was talking about Medicare, or Medicaid, or that money-for-nothing retirement program known as Social Security. Or maybe not. But c'mon, is life in the U.S.A., as we know it, really in jeopardy?

I spent some time behind the Iron Curtain in 1981, long before the Soviet Union imploded, so I have an inkling of what actual socialism looks like. Trust me, capitalist enterprise in contemporary America is in no danger of being eclipsed by socialism.

Granted, these are hard economic times, but our national cup is well over half full. It's not overflowing like it was three years ago, but many Americans can quench their thirst for the good life. Ask around in Bulgaria and you'll find most folks are still coming up dry.

I applaud the TEA Party people for their civic engagement, but there's a Rip Van Winkle quality to their sudden activism.

If they're so concerned about fiscal responsibility in government, then where were they during the golden fleece years from 2000 through 2006? That's when Congress, ostensibly controlled by the party of fiscal restraint, kept handing blank checks to a president who ran up the tab like no one else in American history.

Where were the TEA Party people when America's foray into Iraq - originally billed as revenue-neutral thanks to oil sales - began incinerating hundreds of billions of our tax dollars?

Where were the TEA Party people when lack of financial oversight finally caught up with, and hobbled, America's once-robust economy? My retirement savings took a sickening dive when Wall Street tanked, and I'll bet yours did too.

Our TEA Party pals doubtless were delighted with the 43rd president's zeal for tax cuts. Most wage earners on the Palouse saw their taxes go down by a few hundred bucks. It was welcome, but it also was a penny-wise, pound-foolish way to squander the federal surplus that accumulated during the late 1990s.

Those tax cuts were great for seriously wealthy people, but not for you, or me, or anyone who punches a time clock.

And now, thanks to dubious leadership, America is deeply in debt. The interest we're paying on that debt is money that could have been spent to reduce health care costs, or college tuition, or some other social good.

Instead, we're spending it on debt service. The lost opportunity costs are similar to those resulting from credit card debt - you can't afford to buy a big-screen TV, and Uncle Sam can't afford to solve pressing social problems.

Our new president is trying to confront some of those problems. I wish him luck, but I'm withholding applause until I see change I can believe in.

He started off in a deep hole, with the economy in full retreat and expensive military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like the Cat in the Hat, he's juggling those challenges while simultaneously grappling with a difficult national issue: the high cost of health care.

Only now do the TEA Party people pipe up with their faux grass-roots activism. Their talking points - the same from Seattle to Miami - didn't bubble up from below, they were handed down from above. Just call the TV stations, wave a few signs and, presto, instant public indignation.

These folks were played like a fiddle by the last occupant of the Oval Office. As conservatives continue to lose the political high ground, the TEA Party "patriots" are being played yet again.

As an organizer and keynote speaker involved with both Pullman Tea Party Protests, I would describe William Brock’s editorial “Partiers finally wake up to Uncle Sam's debt.” to be a gross over-simplification of our efforts, marked by outright disinformation. 

It is ironic that while Brock claims our group is “faux grass-roots” and unfairly questions and derides the sincerity of our motives, the fact of the matter is that the only thing spouting partisan talking points is his own editorial.

The author reminds me of an annoying Amazon.com user who writes reviews for books that he has never read. He takes issue with our concerns over the growing specter of totalitarianism by claiming that “America is in no danger of being eclipsed by [it]” and he wisely comes to this conclusion because he “spent some time behind the Iron Curtain in 1981.”

What?

First, the Soviet Union in 1981 was not socialist. It was communist. As background, Communism was originally envisioned by Marx and Engels as the last stages of their socialist revolution. "The meaning of the word communism shifted after 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power. The Bolsheviks changed their name to the Communist Party and installed a repressive, single-party regime devoted to the implementation of socialist policies  - policies that were never implemented.” (Source:  Encarta.) Sounds like Brock might not only be a partisan, but an “полезный идиот” as well. Hope you enjoyed your travels, Товарищ, but you’re comparing apples to oranges.

Regardless of what Brock might believe (feelings, not facts), we contend that totalitarianism in all of it’s forms is a bad thing, and a slippery slope that will ultimately destroy our nation. Our founders established a system of republican, limited government, and that foundation has been our driving strength for 233 years. The larger our government becomes, the more totalitarian it will be. Totalitarianism and liberty cannot coexist.

Nationalized industry and healthcare - combined with radical Cap and Trade proposals (Waxman-Markey, HR 2454) amount to nothing more than a significant takeover of the public sector, (as much as 35%, with punitive tax increases designed to control behavior on the remaining 65) and with dozens of additional legislative initiatives yet to come, every one of these massive programs are diminishing our basic constitutional rights. It was Benjamin Franklin who wrote “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Simply put, we agree.

Anyone can attempt to make the unfounded argument that we are simply an anti Obama group. But be forewarned, that kind of rhetoric is simply propaganda, and will discredit the person making the claim far more than it will our movement. There can be no argument that we take great issue with the proposed initiatives of the current administration. However, that’s simply because that unlike so many leftists, we clearly understand that getting on the stump and shredding the failed policies of the previous administration accomplishes nothing. We don’t own a time machine and we cannot change what was. We can only address those issues yet to be resolved. Not all problems lead back to Bush. At what point will the pundits disconnect from that tired argument and instead have an intellectually honest discussion about principles and values?

As to when some or all of us became involved in the movement, this is an irrelevant argument meant only to cast unnecessary aspersions. While I am more than happy to illustrate how Brock is wrong on the facts, I’m not going to waste time trying to ascribe a motive to his philosophy. Whenever an American citizen wakes up, decides to abandon the principles of party politics and exchange them for the concepts of freedom and liberty, it’s a good day. I can’t make this any clearer - we oppose any politician who would diminish our constitutionally enumerated inalienable rights. And that’s a fact.

(Full disclosure: I am currently a candidate for Pullman City Council, Ward 1 Position 7)