From The Tea Party in Washington, D.C.
Of course, nearly half of all American households don't even pay income tax, but one who does was driving a cab in D.C. yesterday. Shewagezaw Tilahun is also a small businessman who says he sometimes puts in 17-hour days between his job as a cab driver and working at the convenience store he owns. A native of Ethiopia and a Christian who keeps an Amharic-language Bible in his cab, Tilahun voted for Obama in 2008, but said he plans to vote Republican this year.
As he drove down 15th Street toward the rally at the Washington Monument, the cabbie praised America as the "land of opportunity" and stressed the importance of hard work and education. He asked about the purpose of the Tea Party rally. Told the movement is about economic freedom and defending the Constitution, Tilahun proclaimed, "I support this idea 101 percent."
He was too busy working to attend the rally, but the cabbie's message was as powerful as any spoken from the stage.
He was the fourth cab driver we had that sung the praises of being in America, all were here legally (I asked) it had taken them months and in one case years to get a visa and were extremely proud of the fact. One his wife won a visa lottery and it still took years to collect the visa.
They told us their stories of how they are doing in this “Land of Opportunity.” They have sent their children to college and they now have good jobs, one cabbie owned his own business, one is going to school to become a nurse.
It gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes to go over their stories; they all LOVE this country more than some natural born citizens and appreciate all the opportunities that America has to offer a refuge from despots, tyranny and dictators in the Home of the Free and the Land of the Brave. BE
