The Ad Council — the group that puts out all those public service announcements on TV — has a new collection of commercials that they call “Campaign for Freedom”.
For example, the “Library” PSA shows a young guy asking for a book from a librarian, who informs him that it is no longer available and then asks him why he wants to read it. They pan the library and all these government agents pop out of hiding.
The idea is something along the lines of “Look at what could happen if we weren’t protected by the Constitution — it’s a good thing are freedoms are intact in the U-S-of-A!” Really, the ads end up saying “Look at the direction we’re heading”. The Library spot in particular ends up frightningly close to the mark:
Those of us in the library community find the pro-liberty ad in which the young man is approached by unidentified security types after asking for particular library book interesting, particularly in light of the fact that the PATRIOT Act allows the FBI to access any library records on demand (books checked out, computer sites visited...), and forbids library employees from telling anyone that such information has been provided in response to the demands.
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director
Elkhart Public Library Elkhart, Indiana