Meeting recently at the Rio Grande Center the group of citizens discussed history, current events and upcoming activities following an opening prayer, pledge to the flag, reading of a hymn by Peter Martindale and the singing of another hymn.
When asked to define the goals for the Tea Party, the answers ranged from “restoring freedom, education, getting back to God, electing true representatives, and showing an apathetic public there are still people who care.”
Martindale talked about the writings of ancient scholar Cicero, whose ideas influenced the framers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Cicero believed in “natural law,” which includes rules such as gravity and also the innate knowledge of right and wrong, he said.
Ron Eastman explored how founding fathers interpreted the Constitution in the Federalist Papers. He compared these with modem interpretations, including the idea of “separation of church and state.” He said, “It’s not there. Our founders were very religious people.” He read that the federal government’s powers are to be “few and defined,” while the states’ powers are to be “numerous and indefinite.”
The group then launched into a current events discussion. One person read a printout from the New York Times about the healthcare bill which mentions the “frenzied ranting of the Tea Party mob.”
It was noted that the Ohio Liberty Council obtained over 4,000 signature in order to file an amendment that would allow Ohioans to choose their own health insurance and healthcare providers.
The meeting closed with a prayer by Martindale in which he called for God’s help in “passing the torch of freedom to the next generation.”
One person noted the significance of the day’s date — the anniversary of the famous quote attributed to Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death.”
Next meeting was announced for April 13 at the Rio Grande Center with primary candidates being invited to attend and share their views.
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