I am not Emmanuel Goldstein.

In George Orwell's 1984, Emmanuel Goldstein is public enemy number one. He's a terrorist, the biggest threat to the government, and the subject of the famed two-minutes hate. However, the reader discovers toward the end of the book that Goldstein most likely doesn't even exist. So why all the attention and vitriol toward a fictitious entity? This alleged threat to the ruling party was more likely than not an elaborate orchestration bent on keeping the people psychologically dependent on Big Brother. In other words, if the ruling class can marginalize its enemies while keeping them close to the stream of social consciousness as ever present threats, then the easier it is for the ruling class to gain and keep the favor of the masses.

This is what I see happening to me and the entire Tea Party, 9/12 groups in this nation. Because I espouse conservative/libertarian/Constitutional principles, I am diametrically opposed to the direction our government is taking the country. All the legislative compromises throughout the history of this country have inched us closer and closer to increased government control. I mean we certainly aren't moving away from it. We started out right of center, but bill after bill, executive order after order, and Supreme Court ruling and another has landed us squarely on the left. I mean, we can barely see the center anymore.

Therefore, the current powers that be and many of their supporters have created an Emmanuel Goldstein of sorts out of this movement. This straw man they've created hates the poor and wishes the speedy demise of those without health insurance, all in the name of greed. They've bolstered the Goldstein image by taking the theatrical manner in which Glenn Beck conveys his message and negatively linking it to those who agree with his political ideology. Never mind the message! Just LOOK at THAT CHALKBOARD and those cascading TEARS!

Many at the town hall meetings across the country last summer voiced their discontent to their elected officials, but due to the impassioned way in which they did it, all of a sudden everyone associated with this movement is a rabid, racist, fear-monger. This is why we see a push to associate the alleged death threats against our elected officials to conservative talkers and the Tea Party movement. They're trying to marginalize us! That's why Pelosi exultantly walked to the Capital last Sunday afternoon with gavel in hand to pass Obamacare and did so directly through the crowds of opposition. She was trying to incite the opposition to violence so that she and others in power could further demonize them and everyone associated with them.

Now, if your view of this movement on the right is or has been clouded by this straw-man, Emmanuel Goldstein type propaganda, then I urge you to cut through the hype and fallacy and look for the merits of the principled argument. We're not as divided as you may think.