It wasn’t my first time at the National Mall. I’d marched beside priests at abortion rallies and listened to the Dalai Lama speak on behalf of Tibet. It wasn’t my mother’s first time at the National Mall either: she was attending her second Tea Party rally and had brought my sisters and me along. Our mother claimed to be a die-hard patriot, though she was equally passionate about Led Zeppelin, Mary Kay cosmetics, frequent-flier miles, Catholicism, soup kitchens, diagnosing people with ADHD, and wearing Spanx.
