Billboards for the People

Local girl makes good

by Alicia Elliott

I went to see the movie Uncovered at a friend's house about a month or so ago. That revealing and very disturbing documentary about the Iraq War (distributed by MoveOn.org) spawned an energized discussion among the fifteen or so there.

We talked mostly about how we felt powerless to make a change, but the focus of the group seemed to continually return to what we could do to fight the stagnancy of status quo or worse, the paralysis that comes from being fearful to act. Out of that energy came an inspiration to me: rent a billboard. Not only rent a billboard, but start a nonprofit all about renting billboards to air only pro-peace and democratic ideals.

A quick call to the media boss, Clear Channel, the owner of all the billboards in Olympia, and I found that 200 people could each pay five dollars and it would be done. Free To Disagree was off and running. A large donation was made immediately, and the first billboard was designed and contracted. That billboard, "War stops thousands of beating hearts", was posted on westside Olympia's Harrison Street on March 1. Up to now, in the short time it has been a nonprofit, Free To Disagree has attracted a great deal of abundance and community support. The budget is simple and specific. People seem to appreciate the direct connection between their few dollars, and the message on a billboard. The fact that one billboard is already going up instantly minimalizes the self-defeating concept of "we have no power."

Choosing what will be posted on each billboard will be a community strengthening effort as well. Several local organizations, with large scale social change at heart, will each generate about twelve billboard suggestions a year. These suggestions will in turn be voted on by the Free To Disagree donors whenever the balance in the checking account reaches $940.71, the amount needed to purchase a billboard.

The media is everyone's concern, and it has the potential to ring out truth 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Clear Channel is charging us money for the space and printing costs, but our return on that money is our community waking up and paying attention to important issues that have been ignored for decades. Billboards with powerful, unexpected messages can shock people out of their consumer reverie long enough to let them take a clear look around. That is where the seeds of caring sprout.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Let the people know the truth, and the country is safe." I believe that he meant that each one of us is responsible for taking care of this nation.

This nonprofit, like so many others, relies on its community for strength. A strong network of caring people has the resources and determination it takes to achieve any goal. Visualize some positive action in your neighborhood today!

Send inquiries to: Alicia Elliott trublu@freetodisagree.org or see www.freetodisagree.org.