Tea party protest

Mike, Samuel, Eliza and I participated in the tea party protest in Keokuk Iowa Saturday. It was a really neat experience. I feel it is very important to be politically involved. We are so blessed to live in a free country, but we need to be involved or else our freedoms will be taken away. It is important for me to have my children involved and voice their viewpoint when it comes to government. Sometimes it takes more then just voting, but you have to have your voice heard also. From the moment we got out of the car with our signs it was a very good experience. As we were gathering our signs out of the back of the car we were greeted by a lady who had also just arrived at the protest. She was so friendly as she introduced herself and we talked about our concerns with the excess spending of the government. The large group of protesters meet at the park and we had the organizers talk to the group as we signed a petition, Then we all marched through the town down to the river front and dumped the "tea" (fish food into the river.)after saying an emotional pledge of allegiance to the flag. Anyone who wanted to give a short speech was then encouraged to do so. Concerns were voiced and people were encouraged to write their government officials. Then Michell Ridingherd got up and without any hesitation and with a strong spirit, told the large group the story of Moroni and how he had loved his country . She told of him making the title of liberty on his coat, and raising it up as a flag. She then talked about how important it was that we protect our liberty. The whole crowd clapped with agreement when she was done. To my knowledge only 3 families including mine in the group were LDS. But the spirit and love for our country was so strong when she spoke. As we were walking back to our car with our signs a man stopped Mike and told him he thought President Obama was the best thing that happened to the nation. Mike started discussing with him our concerns about excessive taxing and asked the man how he felt about some of the taxes that were being proposed and passed. The man said " I trust Obama and believe in everything he says and does." Mike thanked him for sharing his opinion even tough they disagreed. Back in the car we talked about how dangerous it was to just trust someone to make all your decisions for you without thinking about it. Mike and I discussed with the kids that even though Mike and I are married and we love each other we don't even agree on everything. We explained how upsetting it was to us that congress had signed bills without reading them but just trusting others instead of finding out for them selves what they said. No matter how much we might trust and admire someone else we can not blindly follow them. It was a great teaching moment about the importance of learning for ourselves and not just trusting in men without first learning for ourselves and listening to the spirit.