TEA PARTYING IN KANSAS CITY, 04-15-2010

I got off my lazy bum to visit a Tea Party here in the Kansas City area. I really didn't know what to expect from the experience. I went based off my intrigued and wanted to witness first hand a rally that has been vilified by the media and our own Government. When people have talked about the Tea Parties, you hear terms like "crazies," and "racists," and you hear a lot of wild allegations against a group who is speaking out about real issues that they strongly believe in. I'm still sitting and digesting the whole experience, but I think despite my agreement or disagreement with their issues, I was certainly humbled. Witnessing this large group coming together with concerns for a cause, who are hardworking Americans from the surrounding Midwest areas, ranging from farmers to local retail stores clerks to small business owners, really inspired me. I'm admittedly an idealist and can easily hide behind my computer or canvas, but these people were the ones putting their backs into their work, hoping to achieve that American dreams by it, and who were active in trying to speak out about what they view is wrong with the Government. Seeing this kind of action by this group was definitely inspiring.

With that being said, when you have the President of the United States, Obama, stating fleeting comments about these rallies like, "I've been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes. You would think they would be saying thank you," (SOURCE) it makes you question his working-for-you tactics the current administration is trying to adhere to. Who is this administration really working for? Solely and supposedly the poor people? The Unions? Special interest groups that funded his campaign? As Dana Mills from the Washington Post wrote in her article about the Tea Parties she snubbly pointed out that these people who are protesting are "wealthier than average" and "better educated." (SOURCE) Just because you're wealthy and educated does that mean the rest of the world should turn a deaf ear to you when you have a problem with the Government? Isn't that the end goal of this Country, that American Dream, wealth and education? I think it's unfair to merely shrug off what they have to say based on their supposed "elite" status. Despite that, from what I witnessed, the people who I talked with were from a working class, some who were even Veterans from past and present wars, who were tired of big government and who believed in an honest pay for honest work.

Granted, I'm sure, as Ms. Mills pointed out in her article, you can easily latch on to the supposed corrupt elite hand in this situation, just as easily as I can point out Andrew Stern's elite hand in the Obama-Health-Care-Bill, but that won't get us anywhere at this point. I think the main issue at hand is what those people were there for; it was a yearning for change in our Government that has strayed from it's foundation. Honestly, I don't think we should rule them out so quickly. We should take a closer look at the issues and take them seriously. These people are just as American as anyone else is, and they certainly have a right to be doing what they're doing.

Here are some more photos I took that evening (some pretty hilarious)...

I don't know if my dad would like that one! Ha! (He works for the IRS.)

Some boys dressed up patriotically, passing around a Pro-life petition.

This was a hilarious happening. I read the first part of this gent's sign and found it funny...

Then when he turned around, someone yelled "YEAH RON PAUL!" and I caught him in the perfect moment. YES!

Aye... Palin.

They did a tribute to Veterans there at the Rally. There were a LOT of Veterans there that night.

Gotta love that quote!

Do it man... do it.

-N.S.Soria

4TH AMENDMENT POLICIES AND IMMIGRATION LEGALITIES

Two weeks ago, one of my student’s father’s was by the side of the freeway, helping his brother-in-law fix a car that had broken down. A police officer pulled over, immediately questioned them both for proof of their citizenship or residence status. This father (being undocumented) was immediately taken to prison, and is currently in the process of being deported to Mexico; leaving behind him a family, job, and a hope of returning anytime before 10+ years. The warrant for him having been searched and questioned: he looked Mexican.

In April of last year, a Baptist pastor was driving home to Phoenix from San Diego. At a border checkpoint, he was questioned and interrogated while still in his automobile. After refusing to cede to an unwarranted search, he was forced to allow the authorities to search his vehicle after they busted open his two front windows, dragged him from his vehicle, and nearly beat his head to the point of unconsciousness (SOURCE). The warrant for him having been beat into submission for a search (which ended in finding nothing but tools): he was driving close to Mexico.

A few months ago, a good friend from Phoenix was stopped by a police officer while riding his bike through a residential area. The police officer proceeded to attempt to intimidate my friend into showing some sort of identification, after citing a bike light law that he was apparently infringing upon. After citing his fourth amendment rights, the police officer eventually backed off, and left my friend in peace. Warrant for the interrogation: my friend looks Mexican. (Or maybe the officer was really more concerned with public safety… I’ll let you, the reader, judge…)

The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution provides, “The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Today, this amendment is largely forgotten about in a country which fears more the undocumented Mexican immigrant than the inflated policing and regulatory powers we are entrusting to local authorities in the name of stopping the immigration “problems”. Some might hold that the first police officer was justified in questioning lawful and peaceful citizens, because that officer ended up catching and deporting an undocumented resident. I would argue that once we cede the rights of any human beings within our borders, we eventually cede those rights of all human beings within our borders. The ACLU eloquently states, “the fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every "person" and are not limited to citizens. The framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, all understood the essential importance of protecting non-citizens against governmental abuse and discrimination.” (SOURCE). The very circumstantial racial profiling that you might sometimes find justified, easily leads to the entrusting of great power to police to racially profile in all circumstances, as long as they find it subjectively necessary to do so (i.e. in the case of my friend, a lawful and natural citizen, being questioned unnecessarily).

The concept behind the drafting of the Bill of Rights was to guarantee certain human rights within American territory (to all human beings, not just card-holding citizens). The protection of all people (whether documented or undocumented) is necessary in order to preserve the morals behind the fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution. By rendering Mexican migrants as dangerous, and a threat to our society, we have enabled authorities to periodically forgo the humanity of the Mexican person under question, and usurp authority to search them without warrant, all in the name of preserving a fluid definition of our “security”. By forgoing the humanity of a Mexican person, we set the precedent for any person’s humanity to be rendered less valuable (i.e. the case of the pastor or the case of my friend riding his bike).

I’m not ready to trust any individual policing authority in America with subjective entitlement to creating arbitrary warrants, probable cause, and due process in the interrogation or searching of any person within our borders. As far as I’m concerned, the founders of my country entrusted these duties to the judiciary. And as long as I’m here, I’ll strive to see that those powers continue to belong there.

-E.C.Soria