Rise of the Nondependents

     Let me start off by apologizing for political content. I will try to keep this blog as a light-hearted page, but occasionally I will delve into the evil underworld of politics. If you could care less, then just skip this one. There, you have been warned. If you are still with me then... well you'll see.

     This past year has seen the birth of a true grass-roots movement that has influenced elections, legislation, and even caused a supermajority in congress to fail to live up to it's potential. Of course, I am talking about the Tea Party movement, or Tea Baggers, if you disagree with them.

The problem is their name. It was a good idea at first because it brought about the images of the Boston Tea Party and a fed-up populace displaying rage against the uncaring, distant leaders. The left, fully supported by the media, soon turned the name into a joke by renaming them tea-baggers. Tea-baggers, to the uninitiated, is a term for a sexual act involving a part of a man's anatomy and a mouth. By design, this was not a flattering description for the new movement.

I propose a new name that also is descriptive and gets down to the core ideals that the Tea Party was founded on. The Tea Party is an independent movement, not affiliated with any political party. However using a word like independent is loaded, as it is a catch-all for anyone who doesn't consider themselves a Republican or Democrat. It could be a die-hard Communist or a Nazi, or a Naderite, or a Libertarian, or a moderate. It doesn't really describe who they are.

The word I propose is nondependent. It is the opposite of dependent. It describes someone who does not want the state "taking care of them." They don't want government doing "the people's business." Shouldn't the government be doing the government's business, which is let the people do "the people's business?" I plan on using this new term right away. Let me be the first to call my self a nondependent.

The Alpaca Buggerer