The Sentinel

Issue date: 10/14/09 Section: News

It's 9:00 am. I am standing near the corner of 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue at the Freedom Plaza in Washington DC and it doesn't take me long to realize that this march is going to be big, people are pouring in from all corners of the park. An hour later and Freedom Plaza is packed so tightly that I cannot raise my arms without knocking someone's hat off. We are all waiting to start the mile-long march to the Capitol Building but people are spilling over into the streets surrounding the park, and traffic is becoming chaotic. Some drivers are angry; some are honking their horns wildly in support, and police are working to get the surrounding roads shut down. I spend my time conversing with my fellow Tea Party supporters; meeting people who have traveled hundreds of miles from all walks of life.

The creative signs that people made grab my attention next. Some went for the simple and direct; "Obama Sucks" and "Stop the War on Prosperity." Others went for history lessons; "Let's Party Like it's 1776 (or 1773)" or opined with classic quotes from Jefferson, Lincoln, and Reagan. One artistic sign caught my eye, a hand-drawn caricature of Obama as the alien from the famous Twilight Zone episode "How To Serve Man."

In that episode, aliens come to Earth to give humans a book entitled "How To Serve Man" but they are having a hard time translating it. In the mean time, the aliens give the Earthlings new technology and free rides to the promised land of the alien home-world. At the very end, the lead character, a cryptographer, discovers "How to Serve Man" is a cookbook and the Earthlings are the main course.
One trio had the center person holding a sign of Obama standing at the presidential podium. He was flanked by two others holding teleprompters. One teleprompter said "Promises Promises" while the other said "Lie Lie Lie." Absolutely outstanding.

There are many people still coming in so they decide to start the march toward the Capitol early which is a good thing since I am starting to get claustrophobic. Occasional chants of "USA! USA!" break out and rounds of "God Bless America" ring in my ears. The procession is incredible; nearly the entire width of the street is filled and it the crowd goes on, off into the horizon, as far as the eye can see. I am delighted to see parents carrying their kids or pushing them in strollers, and to see children pushing their parents who are in wheelchairs; making sure everybody gets a chance to take part in this incredible experience.

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