TEA Party Movement

Social Movements as Collective Behavior Shortly after Barack Obama became president in 2009, a social movement began called the “TEA Party” or “Taxed Enough Already.” This movement began on social media and in the conservative, Republican, Christian groups in America. They utilized methods of communication such as Facebook at Twitter to raise awareness of their position, gain support, and arrange protests (Miller 2014).
Purpose
The purpose of the TEA Party movement was to bring awareness to the desire for America to limit the power and control of government over their citizens, instead returning to the rights originally outlined in the Constitution. The TEA Party also desired free market trading, reduced taxes, individual/state fiscal responsibility, and a return of the importance of the church and state connection (Miller 2014). The TEA Party protestors dressed in 1776 style clothing, reminding society
of a simpler time and a desire to return the country to the state it was when it was once founded.
History
The TEA Party began after the election and inauguration of Barack Obama as president.
Taxed Enough Already was a grassroots movement, beginning with small groups and taking on numbers through social media word-of-mouth. Subgroups that considered themselves to have common goals, such as: Republicans, Libertarians, Evangelical Christians, and other conservatives banded together to raise money and awareness of their desire to increase individual rights and decrease the interference of the government on what they considered to be personal liberties. The TEA Party took on many supporters with high social and financial positions, such as former US congressmen Dick Armey and the Knoch Brothers. These people brought with them the resources of professional writers, political strategists, event organizers, and fundraising staff. Despite these resources, the TEA Party only found moderate success. They attempted to combat many legislative measures, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Affordable Health Care Act to no avail (Miller
2014).
Theory
The members of the Taxed Enough Already movement had a sense of social injustice. The government had begun to play too large a role in the lives of American citizens. Taxes were too high and civil liberties were reducing in number, according to the TEA Party. This injustice was combated by movement goals, as those who followed the Party protested and raised awareness of their desires for change. They also had an ideology that America needed to return to being guided by the foundation of the Constitution and the influence of the beliefs of the church. These characteristics, (injustice, goals, and ideology) support the theory of Emergent Norms. According to this train of thought, social movements arise when a group feels deprivation of some sort and makes efforts to combat said deprivation (Miller 2014).
Summary
Social movements do occur in the form of collective behavior. People who feel a sense of injustice band together to express their position in a public forum. At times, they promote the desire for a specific change. Other times, they are encouraged by the desires of certain members of their movement to follow in the direction of another desire. The TEA Party is an example of this, as the financial powerhouses that supported the movement may also have played a role in what the Party spoke out for or against. The TEA Party has continued to be an existing force in the American political environment, although not as strongly as they were in the past. The movement took shape along the emergent norm theory, as the movement goals did not always align with the ideology; instead it selected a scapegoat to direct its frustration to; the Democratic Party and Barack Obama (hence the protesting of two pieces of legislation intended to aid in those struggling financially). Still, the Taxed Enough Already movement was an important part of the political environment in America for a fair amount of time, which is partly what makes it a relevant collective behavior and social movement.