Vandalized Banner Revives Interest in The John Birch Society
Vandals recently destroyed a John Birch Society banner on private property in Clallam County, Washington.
It read “Get US Out! of the United Nations” and displayed the website getUSout.com. The mantra denotes a long-running action project of the pro-Constitution educational organization that advocates for limited government and national sovereignty.
According to information and photos posted by the Clallam County Watchdog, vandals cut out and removed the entire center section of the vinyl banner, which stood on private property along U.S. Highway 101, east of Blyn. The publication noted that regardless of one’s opinion about the message, the sign represented a lawful expression of political speech.
Such vandalism is a reminder that Americans exercising their First Amendment rights have often paid a price simply for expressing views that fall outside the political mainstream.
A Silver Lining?
The incident drew local media attention, something Washington State Field Coordinator Polly Stickney viewed as an unexpected benefit.
“A ‘Get US Out’ banner vandalized in Clallam County. That’s Washington for you! However, it got us a newspaper article in the local newspaper,” she remarked after the incident. (She also noted that Assistant Chapter Leader JudyAnn Williams and her husband, Michael Williams, were pictured in the accompanying coverage.)
The Watchdog article agreed that the act of vandalism was part of a broader pattern of political intolerance in the region. It pointed out other recent incidents of damaged property and emphasized that disagreement should be answered with debate — not destruction. The publication argued that political expression, even when controversial, deserves legal protection in a free society.
Stickney was correct in her positive take on the incident. While no one welcomes the destruction of private property, the publicity has introduced newcomers to the Society’s long-standing concerns about U.S. membership in the United Nations and the tyrannical world government it threatens to impose.
Nothing New for the JBS
For veteran Birch Society members the vandalized banner is hardly an isolated event. Since its founding by Robert Welch in 1958, the John Birch Society has frequently found itself the target of ridicule, misrepresentation, and, at times, outright hostility. Opponents often dismiss Society members with pejorative labels rather than engaging their constitutional arguments.
Many members say such reactions stem from the Society’s willingness to challenge entrenched political orthodoxies. Whether opposing communist influence during the Cold War, warning against surrendering American sovereignty to international organizations, or advocating strict adherence to the U.S. Constitution, the Society has often advanced positions that later entered mainstream political discussion.
The men and women who make up local chapters are not professional activists. They are business owners, retirees, veterans, parents, and other taxpaying Americans who volunteer their own time and resources to distribute educational materials, host meetings, and advocate for policies they believe will preserve constitutional government.
Political disagreement is as old as the Republic itself. Vandalism, however, is not political discourse. Destroying a sign neither refutes its message nor persuades those who support it. Instead, it replaces debate with intimidation.
Ironically, the attack may have accomplished precisely the opposite of what the vandals intended. Rather than silencing the Society’s message, it generated additional publicity and renewed discussion about both the organization’s call for U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations and the broader principle that Americans should be free to advocate ideas without fear that their property will be destroyed.
For more information about The John Birch Society (the parent company of The New American), click here.
