Why aren't we all members of the John Birch Society?

[TruthisTreason]

Here is the latest from JBS.



Dear Friend:

We have a wonderful opportunity to help build the Americanist movement and spread the word, so to speak, well beyond our numbers -- if we are able to raise the funds to do so.

We are planning to have a substantial presence at the Ron Paul Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis on September 2nd.

We will have a booth, a picture of which is attached. In addition, we have plans to have a one-minute video shown on the big screen, a moving ticker around the arena, plus additional enhancements.

We plan on giving out literature and the DVD, Overview of America, to as many attendees as come by our booth. We will also be offering a special introductory subscription to The New American magazine. In both cases, we expect, due to the nature of those attending, that these items will be shown and passed along to friends, family, and peers.

These are the things we are planning, provided we can muster the funds to do so.

It is a foregone conclusion that the crowds will be enthusiastic. We want to segue off this enthusiasm to carry the message of freedom beyond the numbers that will attend. We will have plans in place to help us to do that. About 10,000 are expected at this time.

By the way, if you yourself have not seen Overview, then I invite you to watch it on our YouTube channel.

Once the attendees view the video, we are sure that they will share it with many, many others.

This Rally is sure to be a major milestone in building the Americanist movement. Can you help play a part by donating what you can to this effort? Your help will be greatly appreciated. Visit JBS.org to donate. Look for the "Donation" box on the right-hand side. And, if you are going to be at the Rally, stop by and say hello.

Sincerely,

Arthur R. Thompson
Chief Executive Officer

 

[hypnagogue]

According to the JBS, the teaching of evolution in schools is "heresy."

Hah! Well now I'm glad I never looked to hard into joining.

 

[LibertyEagle]

So I keep hearing things about church/Christianity/religion/evolution (a quasi-religious issue).

Is that it?

So if the JBS were an agnostic organization would any of you still have problems with it?

I guess I just can't get too excited about rubbing shoulders with religious types.
After all I'm going with my wife to the Republican National Convention.

I'm a Mormon and a lot of the evangelical Republicans would like to lynch us as infidels, but I don't have a problem THEM, as long as they can put down their Bibles long enough to throw the bums like McCain out of the party and restore the Constitution.

LOL. They are not overly religious. My Mother was a member, so I kind of grew up with the stuff. They do believe that America was founded on biblical principles, but so what? Their main deal is all about getting the government back to the Constitution and getting individual liberty back. They are a tremendous research organization and know well the skinny of what is going on in our country. To me, the organization was at its best when the founder was still alive and then when Congressman Larry MacDonald was at its helm. He was related to Patton, BTW. He scared the beegeezus out of the establishment, because he could name names and had Patton's old records tucked safely away to prove it. You see, General Patton was wise to the deal too. As I recall, MacDonald was planning on running for President, but was killed in the KAL007 crash. It's still a good organization though and from what I can see, they're on the move.

Sure, you're not going to agree with them on everything, but IMO they're a great organization. And yeah, Ron Paul has been their poster guy for a very LONG time. You have to know that they have rattled some cages when the establishment has gone to such trouble to smear the hell out of them.

These guys are major patriots.

I give them 2 thumbs up.

 

[LibertyEagle]

Hah! Well now I'm glad I never looked to hard into joining.

Evolution (Darwinism) is a theory and as such, should not be taught in school as if it is a fact.

 

[LibertyEagle]

As I seem to recall, the GOP got really pissed because JBS ( Robert Welch ??? ) called Eisenhower a communist. There were probably some more other reasons besides.

Yeah, it was in a book called The Politician. I personally thought it was GREAT.

 

[LibertyEagle]

A good review of all of JBS's dirty laundry can be read here. It used to be big on conspiracy theories. I prefer a JBS where it's simply a political action organization. Spouting off tinfoil hat material just gives your cause a bad name.

They never "spouted off" anything. Nor did they push conspiracy THEORIES. Every single claim they made was backed up with tons of documentation. Get one of their books and see for yourself.

They were smeared, because at one time they had a great deal of members and people were listening to them. The establishment needed to take them out, so they smeared the hell out of them. Now THAT is what happened. I remember it well. These guys are NOT crackpots. Yeah, there are plenty of crackpots out there and conspiracy theorists, but that is not at all what the JBS is.

 

[TruthisTreason]

Evolution (Darwinism) is a theory and as such, should not be taught in school as if it is a fact.

+1

 

[FindLiberty]

YES. Join up if you like Ron Paul!

Very good org! I'm a member. I don't agree with them on everything and I see no hope in getting them to the true "So freedom shall not perish" Libertarian point of view they claim on their New American magazine cover.

Any "bashing" or smears are contrived and false, (just ask any Jewish or Black JBS member). This indicates the NWO tyrants, central planners and media are afraid of the JBS (and the truth).

The old and wise JBS is 100% pro-America and Constitutional if you include a few additional (unconstitutional) laws limiting personal liberty from the "good" central planners promising (forcing?) God, family values and Country. They try not to appear too extreme, but they are easy to spot when talking about the NWO, Federal Reserve, Insiders, CFR members, illegal imigration, abortion, failing public schools, controlled media, socialism, fascism, rap music or Communists.

Members may include a few wacky, but good hearted folks. (i.e., Someone like me)

Many members take off their JBS hats and then go door to door promoting good candidates at election time... but they usually fall for the GOP type (and not the LP or 3rd party candidate) as long as the particular GOP candidate is not an extreme RINO or NWO puppet. Few in the JBS grasp the full power of Liberty intended by the founders. e.g., They defend the insane war on some drugs.

They know how to work the existing system to keep out the bad by pressuring a CongressCritter monthly via voter cards and letters. They are highly organized, experienced and geared for voter education and over-enthusiastic anti-NWO activism.

The JBS is very careful to back up all their statements! The shocks you experience are all real facts the loud rushing sound is just hash reality popping all your bubbles. You can get over it in a few years...

Join 'em and get a Ron Paul education and a half!

P.S. Expect light background checks by homeland security - you may be a subversive!

 

[TheTyke]

The JBS is a fantastic organization. The wealth of information they have accumulated and made available to people is simply staggering. I was introduced to Ron Paul in my younger years, as I grew up reading their publication The New American, and every year they publish the voting records of every representative and senator. In my experience they are not pushy, and members are encouraged to help on projects they agree with, and to abstain if they don't agree.

As Liberty Eagle says, the JBS was smeared big time, and very effectively. There was great personal expense in being a member and challenging the Establishment back then, perhaps even more than today. A friend of mine who used to be in the air force said the enlistment form asked if she was a Bircher. So yeah.

In spite of all that, they pressed on, and I would say a good amount of the background information that enabled the Revolution was spread by them. I just joined earlier this year, after Ron Paul endorsed them (it just reminded me, I would have before that, too).

 

[BuddyRey]

I have a lot of friends who are JBS members and, with respect to what I'm sure is a fine organization, I just wouldn't fit in there.

I'm a free trade-lovin', border fence-bashin', gay marriage-endorsin' libertarian/individualist hippie. JBS seems to be much more socially conservative, not to mention highly protectionist with regard to international commerce, and they seem to put a lot of emphasis on Michael Savage's kind of "borders, culture, and family" type of rhetoric. Fortunately however, they do not have Michael Savage's neocon foreign policy beliefs.

 

[Soccrmastr]

i attend john birch society meetings.

its not for everyone, its more for christians in the liberty movement, but they are a great research society and provide a lot of the goods on CFR types in the government.

if you are christian, however, or can respect their christian perspective, they are the strongest and wealthiest liberty force in america, arguably.

+1

whether you agree with their religious stance or not JBS still does a LOT for the furthering of liberty

 

[LibertyEagle]

I have a lot of friends who are JBS members and, with respect to what I'm sure is a fine organization, I just wouldn't fit in there.

I'm a free trade-lovin', border fence-bashin', gay marriage-endorsin' libertarian/individualist hippie. JBS seems to be much more socially conservative, not to mention highly protectionist with regard to international commerce, and they seem to put a lot of emphasis on Michael Savage's kind of "borders, culture, and family" type of rhetoric. Fortunately however, they do not have Michael Savage's neocon foreign policy beliefs.

Bite your tongue. They're not social conservatives. Nor are they in line with Michael Savage.

But yeah, if you're a hippie-type of guy or an atheist, you probably wouldn't like it.

 

[votefreedomfirst]

Evolution (Darwinism) is a theory and as such, should not be taught in school as if it is a fact.

This argument is nonsense. Evolution is a theory in the same manner that gravity is a theory. Should that not be taught in schools either?*

From Wikipedia:

In scientific usage, a theory does not mean an unsubstantiated guess or hunch, as it can in everyday speech. A theory is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of a related set of natural or social phenomena. It originates from or is supported by rigorous observations in the natural world, or by experimental evidence (see scientific method). In this sense, a theory is a systematic and formalized expression of all previous observations, and is predictive, logical, and testable.

*For the record, I am opposed to all public education. Find me a town without public schools (and the accompanying taxes to pay for them) and that is where I will settle down.

 

[Max Stirner]

Well...

Our local meetup during the primaries had a lot of spillover from the local JBS chapter and I discussed it a great deal with various members. My main concern relating to my individual joining was personal, the fact that I'm not religious, but I also felt that the organization was frankly, retrograde. John Birch as a person was a missionary killed by Chinese communists and the mindset of much of their literature still seems to be in the Cold War era. Too much scare material on Red China and Clinton era theorizing on global governance.

As a 20 year old, I feel that they're still fighting out my father and grandfather's generations' conflicts rather than serving as a very useful conduit for moving the principles of limited government forward into the future.

That said they have great reasons for supporting Ron Paul and are right on most issues (from a libertarian point of view). I'd be and have been happy to work with them, not necessarily as one of them.

 

[The_Orlonater]

See but that is where you go wrong. I would join that group, even if they were all Jewish, as long as Judaism was not on the list of topics of concern or discussion. I am part of the CFL because though a lot of people are Christians, and a bunch of other things they do not make it a statement or go pro or against evolution. It is not at the level of the group to make a stance on a religion only at the level of the individual.

+1

 

[JosephTheLibertarian]

This may seem like a strange question.
I am NOT a member of JBS.
But even a cursory look at the JBS, their website, videos, literature, etc. makes it obvious that they agree with Dr. Paul on almost everything.
(They have his book on their front page and sell a DVD with one of his speeches, for example.)
Being a member of the Campaign for Liberty doesn't prevent us from joining other good organizations.
JBS has been around for fifty years and seems to be doing good work so.....

Why aren't we all members?

I have my own reasons for not having joined already, but I don't say they are very good ones. (And I'm thinking about joining anyway.)

But I would really like to hear YOURS.
Do you know something I need to know before I join?
Do you know how the JBS could be better or needs to change?
Help!

I'm not a member because they charge $$$. Someday.

 

[BuddyRey]

Bite your tongue. They're not social conservatives.

They don't seem quite as preoccupied with social conservatism as say, James Dobson, but they definitely aren't libertarians.

Looking at the "Bedrock of Civilization" page under their "Family and Freedom" issue page, I find a couple of distressing condemnations of pluralism and individualism.

http://www.jbs.org/index.php/issues/family-and-freedom/1869-bedrock-of-civilization

"The promotion of strong, healthy families is one of the best antidotes to the increasingly individualistic and pagan nature of our modern-day culture."

I thought individualism was a good thing! The opposite of Individualism is Collectivism. Does the JBS want our culture to be "decreasingly individualistic" and, thus, "increasingly collectivist"? And how do they come to the conclusion that our culture is "pagan" in any way, shape or form? I was under the impression that Pagan meant 'of or pertaining to Paganism and Pagan rites/religions.' Our culture may be pretty sick, vain, materialistic, and celebrity-obsessed, but the arcane and sparsely-observed religion of Paganism has very little to do with it.

"Another encouraging light on the horizon is the growing influence of traditional pro-family organizations — some secular, some religious-based — dedicated to preserving, defending, motivating, and equipping families with the knowledge and tools they need to remain strong. Consider, as just one example, the work of Don Wildmon’s American Family Association. This very pro-active organization focuses primarily on challenging that influence that seeks to promote and glorify immorality and perversion that adversely affect traditional family values and morals."

Gag! Donald Wildmon a "protector of family values"? Hardly. All he is, in my estimation, is a self-appointed arbiter of virtue with no respect for the 1st amendment and a whining busybody who has never hesitated to use the power and guns of government to enforce his own values.

 

[libertarian4321]

Must everything be swayed by the religion on this f*cking forum?

Hey, let's not join the Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership too, because they all must be zionists, even though it's one of the best gun groups in the USA. Hey guys, we shouldn't go to the Rally for the Republic because a lot of the speakers there are Christians. Hey, let's not listen to Ron Paul at all, he's a Christian too!


John Birch himself was a Christian missionary who gave his life for the message of freedom and prosperity. If you don't want to model your life after someone like that, regardless of religious affiliation, then you do not belong in this movement. Any organization, regardless of religious affiliation, that is dedicated to the restoration of our Constitution and protecting civil rights is an organization we all should be behind.

Its not that the majority of members are Christians- you can't swing a dead cat in this country without hitting a member of the "oppressed Christian majority." Those who aren't Christian in this country are bombarded with Christianity on a daily basis- it can't be avoided- I don't think Christians even notice it, but those of us who aren't Christian sure do.

There is a difference between a group that simply has mostly Christian members, and a group that openly proselytizes for Christianity. Some here obviously feel that the JBS proselytizes and don't want to be a part of that (I don't know whether they do- I've never been to a meeting).

We get hammered with Christianity every day, and don't want to join any organization that is going to give us an additional dosage of Christianity.

 

[Bryan]

I've been a member of JBS for several years- what initially attracted me to them was their impressive video works-- they have a few on the UN that are excellent.

I understand some of the religious issues but keep in mind there is a huge difference between packaging a message that is optimally digestible to religious people vs. pushing a religious agenda. The JBS does not push a religious agenda at all, and in fact, since they are a national organization their basic platform is adherence to the Constitution-- nearly 100% in alignment with Dr. Paul.

With any group you're going to have to hold your nose some, but there is power in organizing. So join every group that make sense-- JBS will be stronger in some regions vs. others. Just my $0.02.

And they are actively promoting the Liberty Straw Poll.

Yea, I think those are my posts you're looking at.

 

[LibertyEagle]

They don't seem quite as preoccupied with social conservatism as say, James Dobson, but they definitely aren't libertarians.

Neither are a whole heck of a lot of people in this movement.