I've written about Citizens of America before, a national media effort I was involved in to get a "pro-gun rights" message "outside the choir" and in front of a general audience. One focus of our campaign was producing radio ads.
We enjoyed some modest accomplishments--we got our ads played on radio stations in every state of the union. My sister even told me she was driving across Texas on a business trip and heard one. We'd even managed to attract an attack--and then a retraction--by none other than William F. Buckley, who had apparently skimmed over a piece about us and drawn a totally wrong conclusion:
In the column released on Jan. 14, Citizens of America was identified as "anti-gun" and as having circulated an anti-firearm ownership petition. This is incorrect. According to the organization: "Citizens of America is a non-profit educational organization that supports the right of all responsible, law-abiding, adult American to own and carry firearms for self-defense, state defense, national defense, sport and hunting." We regret the error.
I'd had high hopes when I helped found, assist with and promote the effort. An article that now resides only in the "Wayback Machine's" Internet archives reflects my optimism:
Our agenda for the night is aggressive. We will, when our studio time is up, have recorded three completed, ready-to-air radio commercials for "Citizens of America," a group whose mission statement is "To put ourselves out of business." And the only way to do this is to convince our fellow citizens that the Second Amendment is their right too, to expose the hypocrisy of politicians who push for ever restrictive gun control laws, to promote the life-saving benefits of private firearms ownership, and to, in essence, appeal to a market demand for freedom.
So what happened? In a word, apathy.
The funding needed to maintain the effort and expand into television didn't happen. Eighty million gun owners, and COA could barely break the $100,000 barrier in its first year of operation. Ultimately, it folded for lack of support, while anti-gun organizations enjoyed multi-million dollar budgets and photo ops with top politicians every time they opened their yaps.
The "Let George do it" attitude exhibited by so many otherwise belly-aching gun owners forced us to fold the operation.
I bring it up here not in hopes of resurrecting COA, but to remind you that there are ongoing projects now that are attempting to bring the truth to our countrymen but need your help to succeed. One such effort I talked about recently was a new video from JPFO.
I could name many others. They could all use our help. How many of us will?
I firmly believe as great an enemy of our rights as those who are against them are those who say they are for them but do nothing. Apathy is as great a threat as enmity. Possibly greater.
I have the COA radio spots and they're not doing any good stored on my hard drive. So I may decide to do a "COA Sundays" feature, presenting one ad a week, until I exhaust the inventory.
This is the first one produced, the one I described in my optimistic promo piece. Give it a listen. And feel free to share a link to this column with your friends, so they can hear it, too.
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Note the "cell phone" reference in this ad--it was made before GPS technology was widely implemented. It still does not change the basic assumption that help cannot arrive in time to defend you from an attack.
Also see: "Most Gun Owners Disgust Me!" by Nicki Fellenzer
Check out other Gun Rights Examiners:
- Atlanta: An Atlanta police officer supports the right to bear arms
- Austin: Justifying deadly force (Part 3)
- Boston: The enslavement of a nation; on our way toward bondage
- Charlotte: Armed self-defense: Beyond the basics
- Cleveland:
Public interest in gun rights continues to rise
- DC: How would Churchill vote in Virginia's Democratic primary for Governor on Tuesday?
- Denver: Bring your gun to church day
- Los Angeles: Abortion Doctor's killer was Militia?
- Minneapolis: Dirty Deeds in Virginia
- Seattle: Wal-Mart case clearly separates criminal mind from that of law-abiding armed citizen
- St. Louis: The Tiller murder, and the fragility of liberty
- Wisconsin: Gun rights advocates make progress
Comments
well, it's fortunate that that works both ways. many people say they are "against" something, but there's typically no outward sign of this, either. in my opinion it is most productive to first seek those who do something -- anything, even something that is blatantly counterproductive to your goals -- and educate or convince them to simply add one more project (and maybe drop some others).
David, if you could get these commercials in a form where they could be embedded on other sites that would be ideal. Spread the messages far and wide, rather than just in one place.
MRJ, this player can be copied and pasted. But I would ask for a link back to this post.
Absolutely TDC (top dead center) David. At this time when citizens are buying guns and ammunition in greater numbers than anytime in history, the sheer magnitude of which is just unbelievable, you know they are concerned, nay, they are scared, they are terrified of what the current administration plans to do to their second amendment rights. But, ask them to take the offensive, go on the attack so to speak with radio, television, and print ads to rebut the Bradys, to assist monetarily in this war, and you get a "gee whiz, money sure is tight right now, the economy ain't doin' too good and I don't know how much I can spare". Then they go out and spend half a months paycheck on ammo. It's enough to make a grown man cuss. I could go on but it gives me indigestion. Thank you for what you are doing, trying to hold the line. All I can add is to keep it up brother, some of us are trying to help you.
I remember your ads fondly. I had some luck getting the spots played in these parts. Had even more luck walking into various papers and plopping down the cash to run the print ads. Whaddya gonna do?
Jack - I am not altogether sure that the apparent "apathy" of spending your money on more guns and ammo might not be a pretty rational reaction. YMMV, but it is entirely possible that a case of .308 will in the end have a lot more of an impact than the same money donated to run ads. (shrug) I'll let ya know in 10 or 15 years.
Downsize DC (then American Liberty Foundation) ran a similar campaign in the early 2000s. Their TV and radio ads are archived at:
armedandsecure.com
A great many really wealthy people and groups have a vested interest in maintaining the helplessness of the ordinary citizen. For many times it is that helplessness which allowed them to amass wealth. Not always, probably not even the majority, but enough that it is in their practical interests to perpetuate that public helplessness.
On the other hand, those of independent nature and traditional values of "live and let live" don't usually amass great wealth. It isn't that they are less intelligent or less dedicated. It is that they are usually focused on different goals. Goals like family, children, carpools, leisure time and just enough monetary success to live a decent life with a modicum of security. Ergo, their focus isn't on wealth, but on living.
Not a bad thing, but many of these people just can't pony up the funds to fight the Soros's of the world on anything resembling an equal footing. Don't sell these people short, however, for these are the same people who will risk
Don't sell these people short, however, for these are the same people who will risk everything, including their lives to protect and defend the modest traditions and goals of their lives.
It is just extremely unfortunate that those who oppose the unfettered living of lives of the ordinary man are too arrogant, ignorant and stupid to realize the consequences of angering and trespassing the passionate family man and liver of life.
So, we suppress them for awhile, sometimes we kill them, but they are soon replaced by others who learned nothing about the folly of abusing the unassuming man.
Therefore we are obligated every generation or so to reintroduce them to the consequences of arrogance.
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It is possible to eradicate the purveyors of abuse of the citizen, but there are two factors which work against such. The more important of the two is morality, no moral man wishes to become the evil he hates. The second is that eradication only rids of those currently extant. Others will rise to take their place, simply because arrogance, greed, and ignorance protect them from meaningful real world education. If not in ethics, in pragmatism, which is usually practiced by those only too eager to surrender to falsely portrayed and empty strength. That only adds to the arrogance of the abusers, which also inevitably leads the consequences previously discussed.
Let's be fair. Just because people didn't contribute to your cause doesn't mean they're apathetic. Perhaps they feel that your approach isn't cost-effective. Perhaps they don't think that paying a C&W AM station in West Texas too much money to play a pro-gun ad at 3 AM is going to do squat for the RKBA. JPFO does this in spades with their videos and movies, but who sees them? Who is convinced by them? They are generally watched only by the choir.
Me, if I have a choice between funding a radio ad and sending a letter to (say) the ownership of Buffalo Wild Wings explaining that gun owners will be boycotting them due to their bigoted treatment of the armed community service group in Las Vegas (see recent LVRJ column by Vin Suprynowicz), I'll choose the one that I think will get us the most traction. Just because gun owners don't consider your project a priority doesn't mean they don't consider gun ownership a priority.
Yes, let's be fair, HB. This COA account is but one of many. I linked to an earlier article where I'd cited three case studies, all of which died the death through apathy, and said I could cite many more.
No one is expecting everyone will get behind one approach. The struggle here is to get a significant fraction to get behind ANY approach.
80 million gun owners? Less than 4 million in NRA, GOA's numbers in the hundreds of thousands, many of those also NRA members?
By all means, let's be fair. How about some of the vast majority of freeloaders help share the burden?
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