Tea Party and John Birch Society

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John Eisenschenk on March 5, 2010 at 7:00am

There is nothing wrong with using the American Opinion Book Store. It is a great location with no cost to hold meetings and work shops. It was also used for the Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group. Not all meetings are held at that location.

The media will ridicule anything that We The People do. It is to their own demise. They are discredited themselves more and more. People are going to alternative media in huge numbers.

~John

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Fink on March 5, 2010 at 8:17am

It is not wrong to meet at the American Opinion Book Store. It is unwise. If we are a political movement, we must be sensitive to political issues.

Andy

John Eisenschenk said:

There is nothing wrong with using the American Opinion Book Store. It is a great location with no cost to hold meetings and work shops. It was also used for the Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group. Not all meetings are held at that location.

The media will ridicule anything that We The People do. It is to their own demise. They are discredited themselves more and more. People are going to alternative media in huge numbers.

~John

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Permalink Reply by Tina Dupont on March 5, 2010 at 11:19am

In the early days we met in their store because they opened it up to us when we had no where to go. If it had not been for them I don't think we would be what we are today. You could not meet two women that know more about the Constitution then Ruth and Helen. I know the Birch Society has a reputation and I'm not sure what it is all about but from what I've seen, I don't have a problem with Helen and Ruth. One or both usually come to our meetings. If you would like to come and meet them and see for yourself that would be wonderful. I'm sure they'd love to talk to you.

I would suggest that anyone that can should get to these classes as you will learn so much about our founding. You don't have to believe everything they say but I'll guarantee it will be closer to the truth than anything you will get from the Main Stream Press.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Fink on March 5, 2010 at 11:49am

I am sure that Helen and Ruth are fine people. My father and brother were both members of the JBS. My objection is that the association that some will make will be detrimental to the Tea Party. If the Tea Party is merely an issues study group, with no desire to be effective as a political movement, then it makes no difference. If the Tea Party wants to have a more direct impact on politics, then it should avoid unnecessary baggage.

Andy

Tina Dupont said:

In the early days we met in their store because they opened it up to us when we had no where to go. If it had not been for them I don't think we would be what we are today. You could not meet two women that know more about the Constitution then Ruth and Helen. I know the Birch Society has a reputation and I'm not sure what it is all about but from what I've seen, I don't have a problem with Helen and Ruth. One or both usually come to our meetings. If you would like to come and meet them and see for yourself that would be wonderful. I'm sure they'd love to talk to you.

I would suggest that anyone that can should get to these classes as you will learn so much about our founding. You don't have to believe everything they say but I'll guarantee it will be closer to the truth than anything you will get from the Main Stream Press.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Randy Lydens on March 5, 2010 at 3:51pm

If Atheists and Christians can work together for the good of our country and communities, I would suppose we can meet at a JBS store. In fact, I would like to visit that store. Can anyone tell me where it is located?

DR Lydens

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Permalink Reply by John Eisenschenk on March 5, 2010 at 6:24pm

It is a few blocks North of Leonard on the West side of Plainfield.

American Opinion Library-Book.
(616) 458-0226
1369 Plainfield Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

~John

Dennis Randy Lydens said:

If Atheists and Christians can work together for the good of our country and communities, I would suppose we can meet at a JBS store. In fact, I would like to visit that store. Can anyone tell me where it is located?

DR Lydens

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Permalink Reply by Jim Chiodo on March 5, 2010 at 7:56pm

In the Holland Zeeland area we meet at the public library. In the library are books on "gasp" Communism, books on Lenin, books such as Alynski's Rules. More gasps! Why would we use a facility that is Socialist and Communist leaning? The reason we use the library it is a house of knowledge that does not have any leanings of partisanship. After all, are we a 527 "non partisan" organization?

The bottom line is American Opinion is a book store. I don't remember seeing a sign that says, John Birch. What I do remember is a great variety of books on the Constitution, founding fathers and the like. I also found Ruth to be an extremely well versed historian that throughly knows the Constitution.

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Permalink Reply by Tina Dupont on March 5, 2010 at 8:41pm

I would love to have a nice, central, clean, warm, free, room with seating for 100 + and office and storage space but we just have not found that. We are pretty close where we are now except for the central part. We met at that location from about May to December and we grew the whole time and we are still growing. I only heard one other complaint about Birch from a woman who missed out on an opportunity to join us in our fight. We started with 4 people and now we are 1,139. It must not have hurt us too much. Some people probably don't come for other reasons also. It's just the risk we have to take. We cannot and don't please everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Helen S on March 6, 2010 at 12:57pm

Hello, All !

The spirit of the American Opinion Bookstore, and of the John Birch Society, can be better understood, I think,
with this quote from the frontispiece of books in the Americanist Library series:

"The Americanist Library ....
reaches for its manuscripts to every corner of the earth, and to every era of man’s culture.
For the ideals represented by America at its best have been acclaimed alike by the Roman Cicero
two thousand years ago; by the Frenchman Bastiat a hundred years ago; and...

...is published for readers of every clime and color and creed and of every nationality. An American or a German or an Egyptian or a Japanese or an Australian; a Catholic or a Protestant or a Jew or a Mohammedan or a Buddhist; each alike can be or become a good americanist, in the fundamental meaning of that term which these volumes will strengthen and support.

...seeks to make readily available, in a uniform and inexpensive format, a growing series of great books that define many battle lines in the long war between freedom and slavery. The first fully recorded engagement in that war was between the constructive forces of Athenian individualism and the destructive forces of Spartan collectivism. Those prototypes find their recurrent spiritual reincarnation today in the bitter contemporary struggle between the americanist and the communist systems.

For the americanist, always and everywhere, education is the basic strategy, and truth is the vital weapon. It is the purpose of this series [and of our bookstore] to supply searchlights and alarm bells, and weaponry and the will to win, for those who believe that Bryant's admonition must be heeded in every age:

"Not yet, O Freedom! close thy lids in slumber,
for thine enemy never sleeps."

* * * * * * * * *
The bookstore is, and always has been, politically non-partisan. But we ARE Constitutionalists and therefore we have been pleased to open our facilities to other groups who also support the Constitution as their primary goal, even if THEY are partisan in nature. On that basis, we were proud to help as we could, the Ron Paul groups, the USTP, the TeaParty, the Campaign for Liberty and other groups in the past, and hopefully in the future...

Thanks to many of you for your fine comments.
We hope that many more will come in and learn for themselves.
Our only regret is that we have but a few volunteers to give for our country and its freedoms.

Helen
--------

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Permalink Reply by Mark Petzold on March 7, 2010 at 12:50pm

Thank you both for your service to our community. I personally have learned so much from you two. You both have so much knowlege, yet you sit back and answer questions and give us information as we are ready to receive it. I sound like a broken record, but we need a steady diet of the constitution if we are going to get this country back on track. You have provided that resource to our group and to me. For that, I am very grateful. I know so many in our group feel the same way.

I think if the press comes after for this issue, we can and should turn it around. Jim's points about the Library are a prime example of it. Tina's points also refect the value of the bookstore to our group. Who knows, maybe some press on this would actually be a good thing for both the TP and the bookstore. The concern is worth discussing, but we can not always react to what people may think about us. We would never get anything done.

Helen S said:

Hello, All !

The spirit of the American Opinion Bookstore, and of the John Birch Society, can be better understood, I think,
with this quote from the frontispiece of books in the Americanist Library series:

"The Americanist Library ....
reaches for its manuscripts to every corner of the earth, and to every era of man’s culture.
For the ideals represented by America at its best have been acclaimed alike by the Roman Cicero
two thousand years ago; by the Frenchman Bastiat a hundred years ago; and...

...is published for readers of every clime and color and creed and of every nationality. An American or a German or an Egyptian or a Japanese or an Australian; a Catholic or a Protestant or a Jew or a Mohammedan or a Buddhist; each alike can be or become a good americanist, in the fundamental meaning of that term which these volumes will strengthen and support.

...seeks to make readily available, in a uniform and inexpensive format, a growing series of great books that define many battle lines in the long war between freedom and slavery. The first fully recorded engagement in that war was between the constructive forces of Athenian individualism and the destructive forces of Spartan collectivism. Those prototypes find their recurrent spiritual reincarnation today in the bitter contemporary struggle between the americanist and the communist systems.

For the americanist, always and everywhere, education is the basic strategy, and truth is the vital weapon. It is the purpose of this series [and of our bookstore] to supply searchlights and alarm bells, and weaponry and the will to win, for those who believe that Bryant's admonition must be heeded in every age:

"Not yet, O Freedom! close thy lids in slumber,
for thine enemy never sleeps."

* * * * * * * * *
The bookstore is, and always has been, politically non-partisan. But we ARE Constitutionalists and therefore we have been pleased to open our facilities to other groups who also support the Constitution as their primary goal, even if THEY are partisan in nature. On that basis, we were proud to help as we could, the Ron Paul groups, the USTP, the TeaParty, the Campaign for Liberty and other groups in the past, and hopefully in the future...

Thanks to many of you for your fine comments.
We hope that many more will come in and learn for themselves.
Our only regret is that we have but a few volunteers to give for our country and its freedoms.

Helen
--------

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Permalink Reply by Chris Jurrians on March 7, 2010 at 9:31pm

The book store does not have a sign outside that says, "John Birch Society Bookstore." It says "AMERICAN OPINION BOOKSTORE." And that is exactly what you will find in there....books that cover things from home schooling to the UN trying to take our guns, to books exposing the Federal Reserve and, yes............OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! The John BIrch Society. Heavens above....the JBS!!!!

The press in Grand Rapids doesn't particularly care too much for what we do or when we do it. They think we are a bunch of idiots. WOOD radio and Fox are the ones who mention the TP and what they do. The GR Press is a left-leaning publication that would rather kiss liberal backsides than report both sides of a story.

The TP does not espouse JBS leanings. We are about the consitution for starters. Ruth and Helen are a fountain of information. If you would take the time to talk to either of them, I think you would have a change of opinion. But that is a moot point as we now have a new meeting place.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Schneider on March 9, 2010 at 2:24pm

In my humble opinion, if the United States had followed the ideas and ideals of the John Birch Society, our country would be far better position than it is at present. For starters our politicians would know a lot more of the Constitution ...... and follow it. I agree with Jim Chiodo, Tina, et al. Thanks to Helen for getting me interested in reading the Constitution AGAIN!

Phil Schneider

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