We were in rough seas in a financial boat that was taking on water at an alarming rate. Our economy was gasping for air and the government was creating high waves making every breath more difficult to get. Calm water and dry land were nowhere in sight; we were in serious trouble of drowning not to ever live the American dream again.

In the later part of 2009 a small group of freedom fighters started finding like-minded people who were not going to go under and drown without a fight. The movement and effort began to gather strength; it began to ignite like-minded groups all around the country. Little by little they began to push back against a government that was out of control and creating huge waves that were starting to sink the country's financial boat. They went to town hall meetings in every state, marched on Washington and confronted those who were adding heavy loads into the boat causing it to take on more and more water. It was going to drown our children and their futures first and the rest of us shortly thereafter. The American way of life was on life support and the tubes were about to be removed.

The small group began to become a storm and they named it the "Tea Party" and they began to build a "life preserver" one piece at a time. They hunted and found people who would carry their message to Congress, and they fought hard to get these representatives in the door. They were victimized, looked down on, considered uninformed, country hicks, gun-toting Bible-thumping troublemakers and who were considered dangerous to the country by main stream media, the Obama administration, the Democratic Party and the Socialist-minded elements that have pushed this county to the brink of failure.

To watch these groups all over the country stand up with dignity walking into the battle carrying the flag, many with their children, treating everyone around them with respect and cleaning up after themselves, while demanding those who represent them to stop the out of control spending, to stop sinking our country under the massive waves of financial burden, was a site that brought tears to real Americans and had us standing up in the middle of our living rooms cheering them on. When true Americans stand up for their country it is a beautiful sight.

The Tea Party and all those who followed their march to save our freedoms and our country threw a major "life preserver" to us all back in November 2010--to slow down the massive financial overloading of the boat, to fight back by working hard to bale out water that was coming over the sides. They are the country's front line fighters, but the enemy to our future still has them outnumbered and the fight the Tea Party started will need to continue. The small band that the party put into the battle in November will need our non-wavering strong support to hold the line until we can put more forces into place in 2012.

The way and the manner the Tea Party conducted themselves and the battle they fought would make our ancestors proud. We can all be grateful for the "life preserver" they threw to our country back in November 2010.

Commentary by Larry Armstrong, West Plains, MO

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