Restoring the Dream
On January 20, 1997, President Bill Clinton gave his Second Inaugural Address and said the following:
And once again, we have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government. Today we can declare: Government is not the problem, and government is not the solution. We—the American people—we are the solution. Our founders understood that well and gave us a democracy strong enough to endure for centuries, flexible enough to face our common challenges and advance our common dreams in each new day.
As times change, so government must change. We need a new government for a new century—humble enough not to try to solve all our problems for us, but strong enough to give us the tools to solve our problems for ourselves; a government that is smaller, lives within its means, and does more with less. Yet where it can stand up for our values and interests in the world, and where it can give Americans the power to make a real difference in their everyday lives, government should do more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to give all Americans an opportunity—not a guarantee, but a real opportunity—to build better lives.
Beyond that, my fellow citizens, the future is up to us. Our founders taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship. And we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century. There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do: teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime; taking time out of our own lives to serve others.
Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility—not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation. Our greatest responsibility is to embrace a new spirit of community for a new century.
So what’s happened??? The government Bill Clinton described we needed for the 21st Century was a smaller and a more humble government. This government, President Clinton went on to describe, lives within its means, is a strong government that gives it’s people opportunity to grow and prosper. Ask yourself, is this the government we have today?
Americans today recognize the the role of government in our lives is goliath in proportion to its constitutional role delegated to the federal government at the framing of our Constitution. Many of us also recognize our responsibility to leave a strong and secure America to the next generations. The government we have today is not the government Bill Clinton spoke of January 20, 1997. So what went wrong and how do we restore our great country?
First we need to ask if ourselves if we are really responsible citizens and what are we doing to build better lives, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. Has Government’s preeminent mission been giving all Americans an opportunity to succeed or has bloated government regulations and self-serving politicians and lobbyists strangled our American dream?
President Clinton was correct when he spoke of a new spirit of community and Americans assuming personal responsibility. President Clinton was ahead of his time, because that’s what the tea party is all about!
The Tea Party is all about strangers coming together because and for a common cause, neighbors reaching out to neighbors, and friends educating each other on issues of concern. As a result of networking with one another, the Tea Party and other Patriot groups, like the 912 Project, and MeetUp groups are growing their membership numbers daily.
We want to build better lives for a better tomorrow for all Americans. Preservation of our liberty and our union depends on us being responsible citizens. We, as the Palm Beach County Tea Party, intend to meet those challenges hand in hand with our neighbors, family and friends and with other like minded groups in South Florida and across the State of Florida.
We want YOU to take part of the challenge of restoring our country back to a land of opportunity. Join us in learning how you can be that responsible citizen President Clinton described in his inaugural address. Our future and the future of the next generation depend on the role it’s people play and the government its people confirm at the ballot box! Join us today to restore the American dream, but most of all, join us to insure we leave our children a country where they can dream the American Dream too!