Nothing whatsoever has changed about the power imbalance between people and government. The only thing different between the tea party and now is that back then

Nothing whatsoever has changed about the power imbalance between people and government. The only thing different between the tea party and now is that back then, a lot of people were willing to kill, be killed, and be jailed for their political beliefs. Almost no one at all is still willing to risk this. I could write a whole thesis, and I'm sure someone has, about the decline of honor or idealism or whatever you want to call this spirit. Point is, the valuation of the self has never been so high in history before, nor the comforts. Who is going to risk death by cop today when they have such comfortable lives? And it's not just comforts, but a change in attitides; the tea party folk were quite comfortable, more than most today, and they were absolutely prepared for jail.