dearest tea baggers...

first of all, you must be so far removed from popular culture. given it's slang meaning, i just can't help but visualize...well, i'll spare your sheltered ears the details of the imagery...whenever i read anything about the "tea bag" protests, "tea baggers," etc.

to all you "tea bag" frosties and boomers who are or will soon be enjoying any benefits through medicare, i'm the one who's taxes will be paying for your healthcare. if your heathcare is government-provided through medicare, you are in NO position to complain about *my* money (since *you* are no longer contributing to the workforce) potentially subsidizing healthcare for other people, too. end of story; shut your mouth.

to all you "tea bag" frosties and boomers who are or will soon be enjoying income from social security, i'm the one who's taxes will be paying for your food, shelter, vacations, gifts to grandkids, co-pays and whatever you're using that check for with no guarantee that a cent of my taxes will still be around to fund my own retirement. put in your dentures and chew on that.

to all of you "tea baggers" who are stupid people, got yourself injured and are collecting disability or social security or other government help, i am the one who's taxes are, at this moment, funding your solvency in the face of your stupidity or bad luck or whatever it was. you are cashing checks because our government cares about your *welfare*. yes, you are collecting welfare, and "welfare" is about all of us taking care of each other. isn't that what your god wants, for us not to judge but instead to care for one another? as you're choking on your own hypocrisy, remember that the universal sign for choking is to point at your throat -- hopefully someone who actually cares about the welfare of others will be around to perform the heimlich.

to all of you "tea baggers" who didn't work hard enough or prove yourself valuable enough to be the one who wasn't laid off (because it's all self-determination that makes for personal success, right?), if you have collected unemployment or food stamps or any kind of government aid during this time of hardship, again, you were receiving a form of government welfare. the taxes you and i paid when you were employed -- and those that *i* am paying during your unemployment -- are funding your safety net. um, are you needing to point at your throat yet?

look people, no one likes paying taxes. it hurts to see a chunk of the money you made go off to the government. it’s the fruit of your labor and you want to be able to control where it goes. however, do you enjoy having roads to drive on? do you enjoy having emergency services like police and fire available to keep you and your property a little safer? are you or your children the recipients of a public school education for which you didn’t have to pay tuition? did you or your children attend a public university or community college? do you enjoy having safe, clean drinking water? would you prefer to pay significantly more for energy, food, medicine or a plethora of other services and products the government subsidizes for all of us?

let's face it, we’ve got a freaking sweet deal. i guarantee that most of us would be paying WAY MORE out of our paycheck if we had to pay individually for the many, many services and benefits that our government funds or subsidizes with our tax money. it's a tacit agreement, and i know we all want to be the consumer in control, but we’re getting a great group rate and a better deal by letting the govement manage the group discount program.

i believe that willingly paying taxes is perhaps the most patriotic act there is...after enlisting and giving your body, mind and life into the service of our country. those of you who complain about taxes and want to “take your country back” (which is usually code for take your money back or reassert your white privilege), are ultimately a bunch of selfish hypocrites who need to take a time-out, actually turn on that brilliant brain of yours, and think before you speak.

ponderings

why do i find it intensely sad to watch people eat meals alone in public? i guess i must have learned to associate dining out as a social event and only a social event. intersting. but seriously, the guy eating the cheese and fruit plate next to me was making a painfully deep pit of sorrow grow in my belly. until he took a notepad out and started writing. now it's not just him and his food and his loneliness (my projection), so all the sudden things are okay again.