I saw a brief PSA commercial on TV today, specifically this one:
This lead me to look up the “Foundation for a Better Life,” as I’m often sceptical of cheery-feel good messages (call me jaded).
From their website, we find (among inspiring images and challenges for society to be better):
We are a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the values that make a difference in our communities. We create public service campaigns that model the benefits of a life lived by positive values. In turn, we hope to inspire people to make values a part of their own lives, and then to communicate the benefits to others.
Looking further into their “About Us: FAQ” page we learn:
Q: Are you affiliated with any religion?
A: The Foundation for a Better Life is not affiliated with any religion. We hope the values we share transcend any particular religion or nationality.Q: Are you affiliated with any other organizations?
A: We have a sister foundation, The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. It is also privately funded by the same source. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is the only organization with which we are affiliated.
Investigating The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation doesn’t lead to much more than inspiring and a campaign for a better world.
So it looks like all we have here is an example of some financial backer who just wants the world to be a better, friendlier place.
It’s refreshing for their to be no hidden agenda.
However, a little investigation through Wikipedia tells us that the donor is Philip Anschutz and that he is a “Conservative Christian,” and while I admire his desire for this campaign to transcend religions, some of his other financing campaigns seem to have ulterior motives.
These campaigns include trying to overturn gay rights in Colorado in 1992, the Discovery Institute, and a television council that lobbies against “indecent” television.
But in the end this campaign looks to represent the better side of his values, and doesn’t even touch the controversial issues.
If this is what religion solely offered, I would have no issues with it.
Update (12 Dec 2010): Note, I am in no way affiliated with the Foundation for a Better Life and am merely commenting on their ads here. Their website is http://www.values.com/.
I am the founder of. PATANISHO VOLUNTEERS INTERNATIONAL ORG.IN THE YEAR 2010. I have a vision. My vision is to assist those who can not assist them selves,like school drop out youth, who are idol and are miss used by POLITICIANS and WEALTH STAKE HOLDERS,–YOUNG CHILDREN who can not access education due to several factors,- and I also like working with an skilled women who are home keepers to join business or in farming. I also Train people how to use hospital prescribed drugs by a doctor and why. I also train to incourage people to go to government hospitals
I had really liked these commercials ( well except for the one about the husband who still loves his poor cook of a wife- hey it’s my job to dislike it as a college feminist 😉 ) I do not however enjoy that the man at the bottom of it all is against evolution and gay rights. I have no problems with Christians or Mormons, have some really lovely longtime Mormon friends, but I myself am not religious and don’t like that background bit of info. It is like when my father was upset when I didn’t want a scholarship whoms criteria was to be only a natural born female/male, aka a sneaky way of saying no transgenders. I just can not applaud something as much when I do not agree with some core background issues. I cannot tolerate things such as anti gay, anti science/environment, racism, sexism and bigotry in general. Either way still nice messages to live by, pretty much things I value in my life without the aid of commercials that all look like they are from 1991.
Cheers
Glad to come upon this blog about the so called “Foundation For A Better Life” BKA “Values.com” Right away, whenever I hear buzzwords such as “Values” “Morals” “Family” associations, I get suspicious, and this one is no exception. I have seen the commercials ad nauseum as well, both on television and radio. The ones on Television I have seen lately (probably for the past year) on Antenna TV, as I like to watch old sitcoms, and without exaggeration, these ads from values.com are run non-stop, throughout the day and night between commercial breaks to the point where I literally have to either mute the tv, or switch the channel to my last selection as quickly as possible, as soon as I here the music starting. The music for these sounds like something from a religious revival meeting, which is intentional I am sure, and the volume is many decibels louder than the programs OR the other legitimate commercials, very obnoxious. Here is my own personal theory of what is going on with these, which is unsubstantiated, but here it is nonetheless: The main culprit here is without a doubt Philip Anschutz, as one can easily find this info out by doing some thoughtful searches. If it hasn’t already been mentioned here he also is a pivotal supporter of: Morality In The Media “to combat obscenity and uphold decency standards in the media”, Enough Is Enough organization claims that it is “Lighting the way to protect children and families from the dangers of illegal Internet pornography and sexual predators”, Institute For American Values, Colorado For Family Values, & the list goes on & on…. god knows what else. He is also a Conservative Christian & Evangelical read: Christian Coalition. OK so no surprises here. He is also very wealthy, oil & rail money mostly. Now, that being said, I know that this man would very much like to spread the word of Jesus. I am sure he would be the first person to admit to that. So why are these ads, from “Values.com” devoid of the words Lord or Jesus, or anything else religious? Why are they also run on broadcast stations (such as Antenna) non-stop, and other channels like Discovery, History, Science, AMC, and I could go on, never have I seen it, or rarely. Could it be that Mr. Anschutz has used much of the 700 million on conservative think tanks, to cross all of their t’s and dot all of their i’s before unleashing this war on the American public?? Think about it, they cannot promote religion in a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT, which I think these are being run as on certain channels, where the opportunity presents itself. Public Service Announcement time which could be used for what it is intended for, Public Service Announcements, such as for instance wearing your safety belts, preventing forest fires, etc. possibly saving lives. However, if all of the time is used up for VALUES.COM to spread their not so subtle religious messages, with a commercial about videogame warning labels thrown in to make it a Public Service Announcement, there is no time left for anything else, and his announcements from values.com are either free, or at a greatly reduced rate, quite a bang for your 700 million bucks no? No wonder they are on non-stop around the clock 24/7. I would think one could feed a lot of starving christian children in say the Philippines, or Africa for that amount of money, but spreading your message is more important I guess. A very Christian gesture. I also do not buy the phony website “Values.Com” Foundation For A Better Life, and their claim of being non-religious, and having Oprah’s smiling face gracing their home page, THEY ABSOLUTELY HAVE A RELIGIOUS AGENDA, you can bet your life on it. They have figured out through the years, that you have to be subtle, & we can thank people like Madalyn Murray O’Hair for that. They know that they cannot use words like Jesus, Lord, Christian, etc. in these ads, (and listen to them), they do not. They do however, use Angels Among Us, & You Raise Me Up la da da da DA da. Very ingenious, Values.Com. What a sneaky way to get your messages through! As if we don’t know what the deal is with these “Inspirational” ads. One more thing, I have found that reaction to these ads is divided down the lines, exactly as America is divided down the lines politically and culturally. You have those that are Christian (which are a substantial number), and outspoken about it supporting these ads, no matter how long, loud, and continuous they are, and you have everyone else, some that are annoyed by them (Such as myself) and others that it goes in one ear and out the other, could not care less. I will continue to read the responses here about this, it is really interesting…
Just a suggestion, why not read a book based on fact called The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn and discuss that? It will make your chin drop.
God bless you all.
Wikipedia isn’t the most trustworthy source to have as one of your only sources for your article. Though everything you listed seems to be true when I look at other sources. yeah you have to wonder if he is just doing it to feel better or is there other motives.
Oh, there are other motives, you can be sure of that.
Look up moralism.