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Residents put the TEA in taxes
It was a drizzly day on April 15. In fact, temperatures were in the 40s, there was a chilly wind blowing and, at times, a cold rain. But that didn't stop several hundred from showing up at Yowell Meadow Park with their umbrellas, parkas, placards and American flags.
Hastily organized by Rixeyville resident Rita Grace, the event's profile grew quickly thanks to word of mouth and many braved the inclement weather to show their support for a nationwide grassroots movement protesting higher taxes and wasteful spending on the part of Congress. Culpeper's Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party, which was appropriately held on April 15, coincided with hundreds of gatherings around the country as part of a "Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party."
"It was a breathtaking sight," remarked Grace. "You could sense the unity and purpose of many with children in hand in the nippy air."
Pierre Bynum with the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. was the keynote speaker. He addressed the crowd about the challenges faced as a nation from the perspective of one of the country's original founders, Samuel Adams, who was one of the organizers of the Boston Tea party in 1773.
Grace, a member of the American Family Association, composed and sang a TEA Party song with refrains such as "Do you want your liberty, free from debt in our country? Are you fed up with bailouts?"
Future events are in the works as interest mounts for a change in the local and national tax policies. The next one is scheduled for Saturday, May 23, from noon to 2 p.m. at Yowell Elementary School. Another one is scheduled for July. Grace, who is the Culpeper TEA Party organizer, welcomes suggestions at ccteaparty@gmail.com.
"Yes, America, Culpeper really had a successful TEA Party due in large part to those who turned out on their lunch hour to stand in a wet, rainy field...to let their voices be heard with such enthusiasm," said Grace.
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