#1: When listening to #SOTU, remember: When a politician says “invest” he means “I want to spend your money on this”. #sotu

Me: better than giving it to the rich oil companies. Spending is better that being robbed.

#1: How is spending against your will not robbery?RT @tcwaters: Spending is better that being robbed.

The night of the State of the Union (SOTU), I had this exchange with a follower on Twitter. and I think it illustrates a point that is very important for everyone to grasp. I have been thninking for siome time- how is it that the Tea Partiers can talk about Tyrrany? Whwere is that rhetoric coming from? I think the above is one illustration of the irrational thinking behind such rhetoric.

NPR did a brief thing on this dichotomy og Spend/Invest, and it is to a degree a matter of perspective.but a point not raised by NPR, is that for the GOP, the connotation of spending gets connected to irresponsible or frivolous. It is so easy to overlook how under a GOP control, we began two wars tghat we not paid for, and passed Medicare PartD, also not paid for. The GOP had no trouble spending money- they only have a problem with money spent by Democrats.

But the real point I want to highlight is the anti-American notion of the conservate sentiment expressed in this Tweet exchange. Thed first part was pure GOP framing. Spend is bad!!! My reply is somewhat hyperbole. but then, the real issue here:

How is spending against your will not…

We live in a representative democracy, where we elect officials to go to Washington and govern. Those elected will make choices that are supposedly in the best interest of ther whole, and in every decision, some will agree with it, and some may not. We each express our individual will by our vote, and even if the other candidate wins, our collective will has be recognized and followed, while the qwill of the minority was heard.  To step back, and start to claim that the actioins of the elected government is against our will, is tantemount to claiming that one no longer wishes to live within a representative democracy.

We can (and should) speak out when we disagree with the actions of our elected government. Our constitution both empowers that, and demands it, in my opinion. But no where are we encouraged to dismantle our democracy through inaccurate and un-American ideas, such as “against our will.”

This is the problem with the Tea Party movement’s use of the word Tyranny. When tied back to the American revolution, we neerd to remember that a revolt against the government of the time, England, was required because the people had no vote. They had no representation. Nothing could be farther from that today where every American can vote and influenbce their government. Those who use this language are doing more to destroy their country than those they are claiming to be the problem.

Not all conservatives use hyperbolic language or ideas like these. But, even those who do not themselves, remain quiet and do not speak out against such rhetoric, and are therefor, complicit in the ways it damages our democracy.