The Voice - Student Newspaper

Marching to protect the constitutional rights of the American people

By Amanda Williams
Reporter, The VOICE

Over the past few months America's news has been filled with nothing but talk about finances: the recession, health care, bailouts, cutting back on luxuries in order to save money, pretty much anything and everything you can think of.

As a result, some American citizens believe that if the government would stop spending so much money, our country would not be in the financial situation it is in today. Whether or not that is true, Americans have decided to do something about it: fight back.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, a protest erupted all across the United States, organized in order to send America's government the message: "Give us Liberty! Not Debt!" The volume of this protest is proof that it will not be the last one; this fight to protect constitutional rights has just begun. There is still time to get active.

The main idea behind the protest, which has received names like the Tea Party Movement and the 2nd American Tax and Spend Revolution, is to let the government know that the money they are spending is making things worse than they need to be.

The Arizona Tea Party Movement, an organization that fully supported and was involved in the protest agrees that the government is spending way too much money, "When a person can no longer afford to provide for himself and his family without working 60+ hours a week because the government takes so much money out of his check, there is a problem." The bulk of Americans agree resulting in several states holding similar protests at their state capitols to show their support, Arizona included.

Arizona's rally featured inspirational speakers, as well as an open-microphone time where protesters had a chance for their voice be heard.

Each state was hosting, a countless, literally countless; they are still trying to count the number of people that showed up to speak out and practice their rights to speak and assemble.

While the different states held their own rallies, the main protest took place in Washington D.C. outside of the United States Capitol.

Participants were encouraged to get to D.C. if at all possible; many participants took trains, traveled by air, or carpooled with other participants.

There were also a few caravans called the Tea Party Express that made its way across America.

If participants were unable to make it to D.C., most states offered their own events, speakers, and protests to support their fellow Tea Party protestors in D.C

The main event of this protest occurred on Sept. 12, the whole event in D.C. actually lasted 3 days total, beginning Sept. 10. Most events of the first day included press conferences and rallies.

The next day, Sept. 11, included workshops, seminars, meet-and-greets, a special time for remembering 9/11 and supporting the troops who are still fighting for America, and concluded with a sign-making workshop for the main event.

Sept. 12 consisted of rallies in front of Freedom Plaza for a few hours, and then marching from the U.S. Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue, which concluded the ceremony in D.C. Thousands upon thousands of protestors showed their support at the event and can only hope that their acts of sending their message to the government did the trick; only time will tell.

To become an active part of the fight to defend your rights as an American citizen, visit the constantly updated website, freedomworks.org.

Please send comments to awilliams@gccvoice.com