I am now the proud owner of a Fox News T-shirt, autographed by the big man himself, Sean Hannity. Not to mention a miniature American flag, a pocket copy of the United States Constitution and, of course, a tea bag.

Those items, along with a series of one-on-one interviews — you’ll have to wait for the upcoming Tuesday issue for those — were my souvenirs from Wednesday’s Atlanta Tea Party, a tax protest event staged on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol. More than 15,000 rabid conservatives were in attendance, as well as several reporters and photographers milling about the raised camera stand between the tea-partiers and the speaker platform, which was set up on the steps outside the building.

At face value, the idea of these nationwide April 15 protests seems highly counter-intuitive. A Gallup poll released earlier in the day on Wednesday revealed that 48 percent of Americans feel that the amount they pay in federal income taxes is “about right,” with only 46 percent saying “too high” — a fairly shocking result, considering that it’s one of the most contented results measured since Gallup began polling the question in 1956.

To top it all off, a Marist poll also released that day tallied 49 percent of those surveyed as saying that they feel the country is on the right track. Only 40 percent said they felt the nation was on the wrong track, recording the most positive result this poll has recorded the entire year. (When the poll is adjusted for registered voters, the percent who think the country is moving in the right direction shifts to 52 percent.)

I’d be willing to guess, though, that these contented poll-takers were part of the minority. Or at least that’s what I’d infer from the sign held up by 38-year-old dermatopathology territory executive Christian Stevens that sarcastically read: “Stimulus check: $20.32. KY Jelly: $20.31. Coincidence? I think not.”

But while the rally-goers certainly didn’t lack for enthusiasm, were their efforts worthwhile? Are these events healthy for the body politic, a positive expression of political speech?

It would be negligent not to observe that the Tea Party environment made a variety of rather unsavory elements feel very comfortable. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came when the television screens, stationed around the street, highlighted individuals holding up “Who is Barry Soetoro?” signs, referencing the thoroughly debunked rumors concerning President Obama’s citizenship. One of the gentlemen next to such a sign brought a megaphone with him, and received encouragement from the crowd when he described his arrest on Nov. 5, 2008, for “pointing out our nation is in distress” and attested loudly to the fact that “Barack Hussein Obama will destroy this country,” claiming that the president is bent on confiscating Americans’ firearms. Further along on the street, despite the fact that this was ostensibly a patriotic rally, Confederate battle flags were waved proudly.

There was also a fair share of the ridiculous — a sign seeking to remind everyone that “potheads pay taxes too,” a large quantity of W.W.R.D. (What Would Reagan Do) doodads, costumes and placards, plenty of folks with tea bags creatively attached to their persons and a competitive field of Paul Revere impersonators.

And then there were the speakers. Scott Johnson, co-coordinator of the Atlanta Tea Party, tried to get a dig in at Obama’s expense by pointing out the area was a “teleprompter-free zone” while reading off his prepared notes; former House Majority Leader Dick Armey managed to, in a one-minute span, impugn Obama by negatively comparing him to John Maynard Keynes and Hubert Horatio Humphrey.

However, though our founders likely would not have been as enthused by the anti-tax rhetoric as all the teabaggers imagine (in 1794, George Washington used military force to put down insurrections of citizens enraged by a tax levied on distilled spirits and carriages), there was something inherently inspirational about close to 20,000 concerned citizens peacefully engaging themselves in the political process — even if it all had to be aided along by the implicit sponsorship of Fox News. And I don’t say this just because it turned out that my tastes in music proved scarily similar to the playlist of an angry right-wing horde.

One of the secrets to the success of the American political system has always been its recognition of the truth that, ultimately, it’s better that most grievances and discontents be aired publicly than left to fester underground. If they could have been there themselves, and not just impersonated by a handful of aging community-theater lovers, I don’t think the founders would have been horrified by what they saw. At least not the anti-federalists.

Editorials Editor Asher Smith is a College sophomore from Great Neck, N.Y.