Back in September, I wrote an article called "Godvertising," about an ad campaign in Florida. Well, I hate to repeat myself in these pages, but this situation calls for another comment.
It seems the campaign has spread nationwide. Ken Blackledge emailed me an article from The Philadelphia Inquirer that talks about this.
It seems the Outdoor Advertising Association of America is donating advertising space on 10,000 billboards nationwide. They consider this a form of "public service," if you can believe that.
There's even a website devoted to the ad campaign. I urge you all to visit it, then email your feelings to them. I did.
What did I say? Well, my ire was fueled mostly by one of the ad banners. It reads, "Big Bang Theory, you've got to be kidding." Signed, of course, "God." Since when is denial of science considered a public service? That's all we need in this blighted country: more reliance on fantasy and less trust in science.
Some of the ads are exactly as threatening as you'd expect from a Christian source. Intimidation by fear of hell. Yeah, that's a public service, too.
No, the term that springs most readily to my mind is "pathetic." That's how I view this entire enterprise. A pathetic attempt to scare people into being good, an insulting method of pushing religion on the public.
The truly sad part is that, even if some wealthy individual would pay to put up freethought billboards, there's no way the OAAA would ever consider donating 10,000 boards across the country to perpetuate the sentiment. That wouldn't be a public service, you see. It would be blasphemy.
So rather than promote self-reliance and freethinking, we see a promotion of intimidation and anti-science rhetoric.
This is a perfect example of how free speech in America still doesn't even the playing field. Those promoting religion will always have the upper hand, thanks to organizations willing to pay big bucks to push their messages down our throats, and others who will donate space for them to proselytize.
By the way, the correct address (I had a bad one here before) for the Outdoor Advertising Association of America is:
1850 M Street NW, Suite 1040
Washington DC 20036
Phone: 202-833-5566
Fax: 202-833-1522
e-mail: info@oaaa.org
Just in case you want to drop them a word or two. (I certainly did.)
