Are we Americans, or just mere Lefties and Righties? Is politics more important than patriotism?

I agree with your assessment. On one hand the Tea Partyers are insignificant, and on another level they're terribly important.

They're insignificant in that they have no authentic voice or direction. They actually remind me very much of the "Yippies" from the 1960s who attempted to inflame public opinion on a host of issues, but who had no focal point, real leadership or policy agenda. In the end, like all such movements, they merely fizzled out; and my suspicion is that the Tea Partyers are roughly the same.

On the other hand, they're important in that they represent what might be called a "Coarsening" of political discourse. Some years ago I undertook a study of America in relation to the 35th and 36th Congresses. What I discovered is that the popular discontents, passions and prejudices were reflected in a breathtaking decline in civility and cooperation in Congress. Recently, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana announced his imminent retirement from the Senate because of this very breakdown.

I'm not saying the the United States is heading for new Civil War; however the long term trends are not promising. Unlike other nations which claim unity on the basis of shared culture, language, ethnicity or religion, the United States has always been held together by political consensus on core constitutional values; and to the extent that those values are undermined by those (on both sides) who view opponents as life threatening antagonists rather than people with differing views, the Unites States is in deep trouble. The Tea Partyers represent a breakdown of that defining consensus; and if that rot is allowed to progress, it poses a threat to the stability of the nation. So, what can be done? Not a lot, I'm afraid.

I believe this phenomenon is elite driven, and place the lion's share of blame on the media. In the past, networks expected their news divisions to lose money; but that has changed forever. Today, news divisions are treated like the entertainment divisions. They're expected to generate profits, and consequently have become more outrageous and imflamatory in an attempt to garner greater shares of the viewing public.

When combined with a public genuinely ignorant of politics and policy, a partisan media which glorifies and publicizes excess is all one needs to tip the balance from civility to discord. James Madison warned that the greatest enemy of republican government was faction informed by passionate ignorance. For this reason, he stated that those who participate need to be informed, and those who uninformed (ill informed?) should opt out of the sytem altogether. Unfortunetly, the new status quo is the exact opposite.

If there is a solution, it must come from new leadership. I'm convinced that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can offer it. Both parties are up to their eyebrows in what political scientist Theodore Lowi called, "Interest Group Liberalism," and as such are symptomatic of the problem, not the cure.

America needs a new centrist party to develop out of this chaos. It needs a party that isn't corrupted by alliances with interest groups or media. Such a group can only form around around charismatic new leadership dedicated to a return to sanity and civility in the public discourse. At present I see nobody on America's horizon capable of providing that kind of leadership. But while I can see no one holding the magic elixir, I'm convinced that this is what is needed to bring America back to health.

Pardon the length of my answer. Cheers, mate.

Righty

I agree with you that protest groups need to have a consistent and relatively palatable message, and I do see lack of consistency as what will be the ultimate undoing of the tea party movement. That said, I won't criticize any group (left or right leaning) for organizing in protest of government policy, or even being critical of the president. I contend that doing so is actually very patriotic and American. The freedom to do so was one of the fundamental building blocks of our nation.

I agree with you, but there is currently a particular danger from the extreme right. That danger is, their perspective is that they are the only ones that are patriots. Anyone that disagrees with them is not a "true patriotic American". This I find disturbing, and reminds me very much of the political movement in Germany in the early 20th century. We all know where that ended up....

See Lee's comment above, "Liberals aren't patriotic".

I'm middle of the road, although I was very conservative when younger. The prevalent idea that only the extreme right wing individuals can be patriotic is a very, very dangerous political idea.

Its fun till someone gets hurt. PEACE

There are many of us that agree wholeheartedly with what you have written.

Liberals aren't patriotic. 95% of think China is better than US and one day, Iran will dominate this country.

How does being patriotic make you a real American? All it does is give you a sense of pride in a corrupt and abusive government.

Patriotism is a stupid idea. Being patriotic doesn't help lower taxes. It's not going to pull us out of debt.