Six Steps for Tea Party Addicts
Following the immeasurably unpopular government shut-down, the Tea Party is losing ground fast. Soon the movement may dissipate causing grass-root supporters to go through something like withdrawals. Formless hatred stoked by the Tea Party and its donors is a mental opiate many Americans became addicted to the last five years. How do we get millions of people to kick the bad habit of Far Right ideas? Here are six steps that could help break one’s addiction to negativity:
1. Block Fox News using the Parental Controls on the cable TV- Giving up Fox News is the equivalent of flushing the dope down the toilet.
2. Take up a strict regimen of NPR- This may be boring, but it will cleanse the mind of all poisons like a grapefruit and white rice diet clean the digestive tract.
3. Lock oneself into a comfortable living room with a large screen TV and watch every episode of The West Wing. Have snacks and take brief bathroom breaks- This television series is not only entertaining but it’s a fair substitute for a high school civics class. What is painfully apparent to everyone but the Tea Party is how little its supporters actually know about the function of the government. It’s easy to hate something you don’t understand, but after watching six seasons of The West Wing, viewers will pretty much get how things work in D.C.
4. Switch churches- You don’t have to give up on Jesus and the Bible to get over an addiction to Tea Party ideas. There are many outstanding Christian Churches that promote social justice, acceptance, and unconditional love- you know, the things Jesus actually preached about.
5. Vote for candidates that talk about how to improve quality of life for all Americans, and not the ones that incessantly bitch about everything- This can be a really big step for Tea Party addicts in recovery. Voting for something instead of against something is a leap of faith, but one rewarded every time.
6. Hug a liberal- They will hug you back. Communication and inclusivity are foundational pieces of the Democratic Party, and most of us will give a recovered Far Right Fanatic a second chance to become part of the national dialog, as long as they don’t fall off the wagon.
These simple steps will detoxify the minds and souls of the regular people who were seduced by the easy and inaccurate rhetoric of the Tea Party. Reality is maddeningly complex and requires discipline of mind and heart to keep up with it. But sobriety is worth it, and recovered Tea Party supporters will find a beautiful world with far fewer threats and more love than they could have imagined once they overcome their addiction.
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