Athena is a fitting symbol for Tea Party

Where did the Tea Party come from?

No doubt doctoral dissertations will be written to answer that question for many years to come, but I would like to propose an answer which like all great truths is more poetic than practical.

In my mind, it is a classical myth which best sheds lights on the birth of this modern-day movement. Indeed, it could be argued that the Tea Party sprang full-grown out of the American body politic exactly like Athena did from the forehead of Zeus.

Remember, Athena arrived not just fully formed but girded for battle.

That description also applies to the Tea Party, which leapt into existence in 2009 with remarkable strength — almost unparalleled for a fledgling movement in the history of our country. From the start, it has also been under steady attack, yet has managed to defy all  predictions and rise to power rapidly, without any central organization or the authoritarian impulse that often accompanies  such power.

First in April and then on July 4 of 2009, there were spontaneous uprisings throughout not just the small towns of America, but also in the major cities. The Town Hall Offensive in the summer of ’09 caught politicians by surprise, as more and more they were being held accountable by the voters who had given them power in the first place. There were also huge, peaceful rallies involving hundreds of thousands of people which drew the derision of the media and the celebrity left, but through it all there was a steadfastness of purpose and clarity of vision that ultimately led to the mid-term election victories of 2010.

Talk about the warrior spirit!

Something has been awakened in the average America-loving American, and it will not be easily defeated. But nor should it be confused with what the left likes to caricature as a gun-totin’, Bible-thumpin’, science-fearing right-wing fringe movement. Forget your stereotypes. The guns and Bibles that decorate the homes of many Tea Party advocates are the same guns and Bibles that were at the root of our nation’s birth in 1776. If you do not know their power, then beware, because they give the movement unbelievable strength.

It is no accident than the Tea Party takes its inspiration from the nation’s Founding Fathers; they are the Zeus from which our Athena was born. Indeed, the Tea Party is a perfect personification of Athena. Yes, the goddess of warfare — capable of heroic endeavor — but also the goddess of wisdom — and therefore able to use her strength, strategy, and skill to achieve victory often without force. Most importantly, the Tea Party embodies that balancing aspect of Athena that makes her the goddess of civilization itself — the patron of Athens, and thus of the entire Western world.

So just as the spirit of the French Revolution was personified by artist Eugene Delacroix as a woman in his painting, “Liberty Leading the People” (based on the Roman goddess of liberty) I propose that the Tea Party should henceforth be associated with the spirit of Athena.

Whether Western civilization can be saved at this point is an open question. That should not surprise anyone. Civilization is a fragile enterprise, and there have been many times before when the West has nearly collapsed. The entire period of the Dark Ages was a perilous interregnum out of which we may easily never have risen. Later, there was the onslaught of the Ottoman Empire into Europe that was stopped only at the Battle of Vienna after two hundred years of war. Most recently the Nazi assault came perilously close to snapping the back of Western Civilization and replacing it with a primitive hero worship that recognized no individual liberties and threatened the entire world.

But what should be clear to everyone is that if the West is to persevere and indeed prosper, it will be up to America to carry the torch — the same torch held high by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. But Liberty cannot defend herself simply with ideals. Someone needs to take up the sword (or yes, the gun) to keep her safe.

That’s where Athena comes in. She is protected by her aegis or shield, which is the equivalent of the breastplate of righteousness. But she also carries a thunderbolt, and in my mind both the shield and the weapon represent the power of truth — to protect and enlighten — and ultimately to defeat the forces of darkness.

Perhaps it is that raw power of Athena which frightens opponents of the Tea Party. Indeed, it may be no accident that much of the power of the Tea Party movement has been embodied in women warriors such as Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman — who speak proudly of both their faith and their country. Strong women are at the very heart of the conservative movement, just as they are at the heart of civilization itself.

Mock them — and their values — at your own risk.