Discontent with the federal government's role in business and other aspects of life will bring a group of "Tea Party" protesters to Capaha Park on April 15.

Tom Young of Jackson, who is organizing the event, said that while the action is inspired by similar protests elsewhere, he is not affiliating the local protest with any national organization or political party. Anyone with grievances can come to the park and air them, he said.

Young said his anger with career politicians and Washington, D.C., attitudes has been growing over the years. But he decided to become more active, he said, after his youngest daughter announced in February that she was pregnant.

"I got to thinking about the state of our country and the more I thought, the more depressed I got," Young said. "My grandchild is not going to know the country I knew."

Various organizations are protesting this year on the day tax filings are due. Most are targeting the spending and tax policies of President Obama. But Young, while he disagrees strongly with many measures Obama is pursuing, said he is not acting out of displeasure with the Democratic president.

"I do not like the direction he is taking us, but I am not laying it at his feet," Young said. "The Democrats and Republicans have been in power so long that they think they are omnipotent. They are not the solution; they are the problem."

Young is a 69-year-old hospital janitor who took the job while in his mid-50s and in an early retirement. He needed health insurance, so he returned to work and now feels he can't stop working because his prescription medications are too expensive.

A longtime Republican voter, Young said the small Constitution Party now best represents his views. But the protest April 15 will not be a partisan event for the Constitution Party or any other group, he said.

Longtime state representative Mary Kasten, now retired, said Monday she will attend the protest. She said she sees value in citizen action to make leaders aware of public dissatisfaction.

"It is working people who recognize that the direction we are going is wrong, that government is getting involved in too many aspects of their lives," she said. "Americans need to be heard and have their concerns listened to."

Participants in the rally are being asked to bring tea bags to use in the protest. The tea will not be dumped into the water of the Capaha Park lagoon and will instead be deposited in barrels that will be on hand for the protest, Young said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Capaha Park, Cape Girardeau, MO

Want to go?

What: Tea Party protest

When: 5 to 7 p.m. April 15

Where: Capaha Park

More information: Contact Tom Young at young-tom@sbcglobal.net