Unity. There’s a belief that when all appears lost and our backs are truly against the wall, our huge differences dissipate like a phantom. Our nation overcomes in the end, through the power of unity. We unite and, in our unity, we beat down all enemies. It is the quintessential American way of beating the odds and finding a way to win. But this time, in order to win, we are being asked to separate, to disengage from one another, to be alone. With this kind of enemy, gathering together to tap into our strength as we have done throughout our history, will not serve us. In this conflict, the question we face, is whether we can still unite by separating from each other? Can unity be found if Americans isolate from one another? Can we still find our way towards unity by coming together in a different way and still capture the genius of what we can do when we gather together?
These questions of the moment are threatening to become the questions of our age. We may not find our way back to where we were just a few short weeks ago. We are now witness to a generation of changes rapidly transforming our culture in weeks, days, even by the hour. What do we do? Does our freedom movement become a necessary sacrifice to the Corona Apocalypse? How does a freedom movement operate going forward in a world that must give up freedom to survive? How do we operate in a society that is “temporarily” trading away freedoms for security?
We do recognize that the viral threat is real. And so, we are moving to adjust to the threat in keeping with rapidly constraining health protocols. Our 1st action is to postpone our Tea Party summit pending resolution of the pandemic. Our wonderful April 18th Tea Party Summit is now Canceled. Our 2nd action is to caution all of our faithful to suspend gatherings, meetings and events until we come out of this crisis. There are precious few of us, so we can’t afford to lose even one. You guys are very precious for our Republic’s sake; we need to keep as many of you alive and kicking as we can!
The other measures are works in progress. We do need to come together, but if we can’t, then we need to innovate and find ways to keep in contact and foster our fellowship through other means. We are working on that now. It is critical that we remain able to draw strength and inspiration from one another. If not in person, then maybe we can come up with a next best thing.
And so, pray for each and every one of us and for our Republic. Look to continue to keep in contact with one another and especially with us. We are one another’s lifeline. Those lines must be kept vibrant to keep us engaged and centered. It is with much hope that I believe that we’ll come up with an innovative solution that keeps us engaged and in fighting trim. These solutions may end up making us and our freedom movement even more impactful and effective. It is my hope when we emerge from this crisis, we will emerge stronger and even more united than before that dreaded Corona Chinese monster slithered onto our American shores.
With Resolve & Faith,
Nelson Velez
Chairman
Virginia Tea Party
