A call to action.

Regular readers of THE NEW AMERICAN are well aware that this is a magazine like no other. It is no ordinary publication of news and opinion. It provides facts and perspective, of course, but it does much more than that. It fearlessly blazes a trail to arm America's patriots with the truth they need to expose the enemies of freedom and to preserve Americanist principles. Those principles include limited government under the U.S. Constitution, the God-given rights that the Constitution safeguards, and the moral bedrock that makes freedom possible.

The motto below the masthead that appears on the cover of every issue of THE NEW AMERICAN, "That freedom shall not perish," expresses the noble goal toward which all Americans worthy of the name aspire.

Safeguarding Freedom for 45 Years

Forty-five years ago this December, American businessman and patriot Robert Welch founded The John Birch Society to ensure that freedom shall not perish. In my estimation, based on 35 years as a member and 26 years on the staff, the JBS is the only organization with the potential for saving our freedoms.

There are, of course, many good Americans who would scoff at this assessment, despite recognizing the danger. They would point out that the JBS, after 45 years of existence, has failed to reverse the collectivist, internationalist tide. After all, they would argue, America is still moving along a planned trajectory from limited government to total government, from morality to amorality, from abundance to scarcity, and from nationhood to being a mere province in a despotic new world order.

But those Americans do not consider how much worse conditions would be without the last 45 years of Birch activism. They do not understand what a relatively small number of patriots have already accomplished by being informed, involved, committed, focused--and organized! Without The John Birch Society, freedom would have likely already perished.

There are also many good Americans who do not detect any conspiratorial threat against American liberty, who perceive John Birchers as tilting at windmills. "Communism is dead," they might claim, "so why is the anti-Communist John Birch Society still around?" They overlook that the Total State can advance under any number of flags--and collectivism is on the march, despite Communism's apparent demise. To learn more about America's present, dangerous trajectory, we encourage these and other Americans to read the opening article in this issue, by JBS Chief Executive Officer G. Vance Smith (see next page).

The Weapon of Truth

THE NEW AMERICAN is published by American Opinion Publishing, a John Birch Society affiliate. As such, it is fitting that the magazine devotes an entire issue to the JBS. The magazine is, in fact, a tool of the JBS. Specifically, members use the magazine to become better informed so that they may more effectively carry out the Society's agenda projects. They also use the magazine to inform others.

Many thousands of non-JBS members also benefit from the magazine, and we are grateful to have every one of them as a subscriber. But the bottom line is that a heavy dose of information about the collectivist conspiracy ravaging our nation, absent any antidote to counter that advancing cancer, will likely lead to frustration and defeatism. The information regularly published in these pages is most effective when it is put to use in the freedom fight.

Robert Welch repeatedly said of The John Birch Society: "We are an army fighting with facts, and to be better informed is to be better armed." We encourage all readers--JBS members and non-JBS members alike--to put to use the information appearing in these pages every two weeks. Moreover, we encourage readers who are not JBS members to consider joining.

Freedom is not only every person's birthright, it is also every person's responsibility. If America is saved, it will only be because enough good citizens got informed and involved.

To order additional of this special issue of TNA at quantity-discount prices, see the insert card between pages 46 and 47.