In a recent op-ed, David Brooks likens todays Tea Partiers to a post-1960s liberal movement he calls "the New Left." The two groups are more alike than different; essentially, both movements want "to take on The Man, return power to the people, upend the elites, and lead a revolution."

"Both have a mostly negative agenda: destroy the corrupt structures; defeat the establishment. They don’t seek to form a counter-establishment because they don’t believe in establishments or in authority structures."

"For this reason, both the New Left and the Tea Party movement are radically anticonservative. Conservatism is built on the idea of original sin — on the assumption of human fallibility and uncertainty. To remedy our fallen condition, conservatives believe in civilization — in social structures, permanent institutions and just authorities, which embody the accumulated wisdom of the ages and structure individual longings."

Everyone has differing views of what the government's role should be in society. George Will says the federal government should "deliver the mail, protect the shores, and get the hell out of the way." I'm inclined to agree with Chuck Colson - who has said the Biblical view of government is to "preserve order, restrain evil, and promote justice."