The Cavalier daily :: Friday, April 20, 1973 :: University of Virginia Library

Yes, Virginia, there is a
John Birch Society, and not
only is it before your gates, it
is among you. A group of
students with far more courage
than prudence has banded
together to present, among
other things, Birch films,
speakers, etc., to the
University.

We've got several reasons
for doing it. One of them is
quite definitely in line with the
educational purposes of the
University: to submit a whole
panoply of ideas and
philosophical stances to the
student body for examination.
We expect, through open
debate, to familiarize the
student with certain
information he may not have
at present.

We also wish to expose
students to certain ideas that
have a fair degree of
prominence in the outside
world, but which almost never
penetrate the environs of
Academe. We will all meet
these concepts in later life; we
may as well be familiar with
them.

As to the influence of Birch
thinking beyond the campuses:
the Society regularly sells ten
to fifteen million copies of every
book it prints, and maintains
bookstores–at an average loss
of $500 per month, made up
through contributions–in
every state and major city of
the United States.

Finally, since we consider
that our theories contain a fair
measure of truth (and more),
we expect to be able to help
people understand their world
and move within it more
effectively.

So that's why we're here.
But just what is the Society
anyway? What makes it any
different from, say, Young
Americans for Freedom?

To take the last one first:
Y. A. F. is largely
campus-oriented, devoting
much of its time to on-campus
problems. Our orientation is
toward society as a whole.

Second, we place more
importance on philosophy, on
the bases for our attitudes.
Y.A.F., for instance, may
waver on such matters as
abortion; we don't. (We're
against.) Y.A.F., overtly or
covertly, plays a great deal of
politics; we're exclusively
educational.

The big differences,
however, come in positions.
Y.A.F. has consistently
supported presidential policies
on Vietnam since 1965, while
we've been saying that the
involvement was
unconstitutional; but as long as
we were in, we should have
gotten it won as quickly as
possible and as completely.
And there are others too
numerous to mention.

As for what we are: the
main thing, in philosophical
terms, is 'libertarian' in the
strict sense. Many
Conservatives are economic
libertarians; we extend that
concept–the idea of
structuring institutions around
voluntary choice–into politics,
education, and other areas.
You might almost call us
'freedom freaks.'

We consider that the rights
of the individual must have the
highest priority among human
concerns, and we also consider
that those rights are under
serious threat. Were the rights
of the Democratic Party's
leaders respected by the
perpetrators of the Watergate
crimes? And what of the rights
of parents to choose their
children's schools? We seek to
build barriers against those
threats.

We speak of 'individual
rights' rather than 'civil rights'
because the latter are those
granted by governments; and
the granting governments can,
and often do, take away the
rights they grant. Rights not
granted by government can't
be taken away by government,
unless that government turns
lawbreaker...

Finally, Birch people tend
to be activists. If something
looks worth doing they'll try
it, even if it looks impossible.

This factor does a lot to set the
tone of the organization.

And that's the story. We
sincerely hope that you'll come
to our free seminars this
Thursday and next Monday at
8 p.m. (Newcomb Hall 4B and
4A respectively), featuring
William McIlhaney, chairman
of the Washington and Lee
chapter, and two films:
Anarchy, U.S.A. and The Great
Pretnece: Truth in Time.

We also hope you'll wish us
luck in our battle against
entrenched tyranny. If you
have any questions, come to
the seminars and ask, even if
they're difficult ones. We'll be
glad to have you.