TEA and Turtles

I am a regular person who used to keep quiet. I am a daughter, a sister, a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. I grew up in a strong household. I have a really good education. I was just living my life.
On the far-away island of Sala-ma-Sond,
Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond.
A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat.
The water was warm. There was plenty to eat.
The turtles had everything turtles might need.
And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.

I sat for years in front of the TV, the computer, the radio, the newspapers…and I just... got.... tired. I got tired of Washington thinking I work for them. I got tired of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan. I got tired of Congress raking citizens over the coals while they, themselves, defaulted on their taxes. lied, and skirted the law.

They were... until Yertle, the king of them all,
Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small.
"I'm ruler", said Yertle, "of all that I see.
But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me.
With this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond
But I cannot look down on the places beyond.
This throne that I sit on is too, too low down.
It ought to be higher!" he said with a frown.
"If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be!
What a king! I'd be ruler of all that I see!"

I am a decent and responsible person. I paid my taxes. I budgeted and I didn't ask someone else to pay for my poor decisions. I got tired of the fallout from the reckless spending of BILLIONS to bailout and "stimulate" without accountability and responsibility. I got tired of being told it was MY responsibility to save people, with my tax money, who knowingly, bought more house than they could afford. I got tired of being made to feel it was my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes.
So Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand
And Yertle, the Turtle King, gave a command.
He ordered nine turtles to swim to his stone
And, using these turtles, he built a new throne.
He made each turtle stand on another one's back
And he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.
And then Yertle climbed up. He sat down on the pile.
What a wonderful view! He could see 'most a mile!
"All mine!" Yertle cried. "Oh, the things I now rule!
I'm the king of a cow! And I'm the king of a mule!
I'm the king of a house! And, what's more, beyond that
I'm the king of a blueberry bush and a cat!
I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me
For I am the ruler of all that I see!"

I got tired of my congressmen and senators voting for thousands of pages of stimulus package, and health care legislation without reading it first. I got tired of politicians who looked upon their positions as life long careers instead of a service to their constituancy and their country. I got tired of being told I was rabble, racist, astro-turf, and fringe. I got tired of watching our Constitution continually tossed to the side. I got tired of not being listened to.
And all through the morning, he sat up there high
Saying over and over, "A great king am I!"
Until 'long about noon. Then he heard a faint sigh.
"What's that?" snapped the king
And he looked down the stack.
And he saw, at the bottom, a turtle named Mack.
Just a part of his throne. And this plain little turtle
Looked up and he said, "Beg your pardon, King Yertle.
I've pains in my back and my shoulders and knees.
How long must we stand here, Your Majesty, please?"
"SILENCE!" the King of the Turtles barked back.
"I'm king, and you're only a turtle named Mack."
"You stay in your place while I sit here and rule.
I'm the king of a cow! And I'm the king of a mule!
I'm the king of a house! And a bush! And a cat!
But that isn't all. I'll do better than that!

So I began attending TEA PARTY functions and I found others of all ages, religions, races, economic and social classes who were as tired as me. So millions of us are now bound together.
I am united in the belief that fiscal responsibility by government is a duty. I have the freedom to spend the money that is the fruit of my own labor. My government is supposed to be constitutionally limited in order to protect the blessings of liberty.
To subject me to high levels of taxation unjustly restricts that liberty. Runaway deficit spending, as we now see in Washington D.C., compels me to take action…. to speak up, to learn, to educate. I commit to this because the increasing national debt is a grave threat to our national sovereignty. It is a threat to my personal and economic liberty and to the future of my children and grandchildren.

My throne shall be higher!" his royal voice thundered,
"So pile up more turtles! I want 'bout two hundred!"
"Turtles! More turtles!" he bellowed and brayed.
And the turtles 'way down in the pond were afraid.
They trembled. They shook. But they came. They obeyed.
From all over the pond, they came swimming by dozens.
Whole families of turtles, with uncles and cousins.
And all of them stepped on the head of poor Mack.
One after another, they climbed up the stack.
Then Yertle the Turtle was perched up so high,
He could see fourty miles from his throne in the sky!
"Hooray!" shouted Yertle. "I'm the king of the trees!
I'm king of the birds! And I'm king of the bees!
I'm king of the butterflies! King of the air!
Ah, me! What a throne! What a wonderful chair!
I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!"

I regard the Constitution of the United States to be the supreme law of the land. It was not meant to be a living document subject to arbitrary adjustments. The original intent of our founders is known and our elected officials swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. I now expect them to keep that oath. . Like the founders, I support states' rights for those powers not expressly stated in the Constitution. As the government is of the people, by the people and for the people, in all other matters I support the personal liberty of the individual, within the rule of law.
Then again, from below, in the great heavy stack,
Came a groan from that plain little turtle named Mack.
"Your Majesty, please... I don't like to complain,
But down here below, we are feeling great pain.
I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,
But down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.
We turtles can't stand it. Our shells will all crack!
Besides, we need food. We are starving!" groaned Mack.
"You hush up your mouth!" howled the mighty King Yertle.
"You've no right to talk to the world's highest turtle.
I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea!
There's nothing, no, NOTHING, that's higher than me!"

Personal liberty and a free market economy are bound together. The founders believed that personal and economic freedom were indivisible…so do I. Current governmental interference has distorted the free market and inhibited the pursuit of individual and economic liberty. I support a return to the free market principles on which this nation was founded and I am totally opposed to government intervention in operations of private business.

But, while he was shouting, he saw with surprise
That the moon of the evening was starting to rise
Up over his head in the darkening skies.
"What's THAT?" snorted Yertle. "Say, what IS that thing
That dares to be higher than Yertle the King?
I shall not allow it! I'll go higher still!
I'll build my throne higher! I can and I will!
I'll call some more turtles. I'll stack 'em to heaven!
I need 'bout five thousand, six hundred and seven!"

But, as Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand
And started to order and give the command,
That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,
Decided he'd taken enough. And he had.
And that plain little lad got a bit mad.
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.
He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king!

And maybe, just maybe, our elected officials will begin to realize that we will never let up. We will inundate them with inquiries. We will constantly demand that they justify their positions. We will not let them forget that they were sent to represent us not their party. We will pursue term limits by voting all of them out in every election if need be. And then….maybe... they will tell us how the money is being spent….maybe there will be real TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY…..

And Yertle the Turtle, the king of the trees,
The king of the air and the birds and the bees...

The king of a house and a cow and a mule
Well, that was the end of the Turtle King's rule!
For Yertle, the King of all Sala-ma-Sond,
Fell off his high throne and fell Plunk! In the pond!

I am part of millions of individuals united by shared core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Bill Of Rights. We are powered by activism and civic responsibility starting at a local level. I am an heir to this republic, a republic unique in the history of the world. It is my right and my duty to work to preserve that legacy. There is an inherent benefit to all people when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual.
And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.

And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

Dr. Seuss on liberty and tyranny...thank you!