The Teabaggers And Our Elitist Economy
As a resident of Washington, DC, I routinely encounter Tea Party protesters, or "teabaggers" as they are called in a perfect mockery of their lack of self-awareness.
But aside from the wide range of easy cheap shots taken at this group, is there anything we can legitimately learn from their seemingly random, inchoate rage?
I think there is. Looking at the average Tea Party protester, I see a downtrodden, aging middle American who lacks a bit of the ol' professional polish. In other words, people whose jobs may well have been taken out from under them.
With an unemployment rate hovering at or near 10% for some time, the U.S. clearly has available workers. But are they a good match for the available jobs in a 21st century marketplace?
Ahhh... there's the rub. People accustomed to a high school diploma being sufficient for an assembly line job are told that engineers, medical researchers, and new energy pioneers are what's needed. In other words, not only is the average teabagger's job not here anymore, it's never coming back.
That's why it's a shame when I hear teabaggers saying or supporting arguments that are racist or bigoted in nature. Obviously, such content is completely objectionable under any circumstance. Still, I believe the teabaggers could potentially raise a valid argument for society to analyze and engage in, if only they focused their outreach on what's really, truly wrong: an economy that cannot possibly be expected to cater to people with their professional backgrounds. That hurts them, both personally and financially, and it's not unreasonable for them to feel and express that pain.
So why can't they get at what's really bothering them? It's because of the very shortcoming for which they are mocked: a lack of formal education. The very thing that prevents many teabaggers from taking part in our elitist economy is also what prevents them from making a cogent argument about their plight.
Ultimately, we all miss out on an important national conversation as a result.
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