Georgia Christian's One-Man Campaign for Decency Succeeds
by Rusty Pugh
August 26, 2004
(AgapePress) - An Atlanta man say one person can make a difference in getting advertisers to listen to concerns about indecent material on the radio.When Atlanta radio station 99X ran spots for an event called "Naughty Night" -- advertised as a "hot lingerie and singles pajama party" at an area nightclub -- Jim Sligar decided to take action. Fed up with smut on the radio and worried that children would be exposed to the radio ads, he decided to contact the sponsors of the event, hoping to get some of them to drop out.
To his amazement, it worked. Sligar talked with some of the businesses, many of whom reported they were not even aware that their advertising dollars were being spent on something that many people found offensive. He says if anyone doubts one person can make a difference, "I've got news for you, you absolutely can."
The Georgia man says he expects as other believers get involved in such activism they will find, as he did, "reasonable people, and in some cases even Christians, working in these big companies that have no idea their company is involved in something that you find disgusting."
And for those who think they can protect themselves from obscenity by avoidance, Sligar advises, "Don't try to protect yourself from it in the sense that you're just going to turn away from it."
Sligar believes Christians must be aware of how Satan uses the media and popular culture to ensnare people. He says believers need to "go out into the world and see what's going on before we can do anything about it. Then we can actually use the tools that get used against our kids -- we can use those same tools against this kind of trash."
Sligar hopes his experience will serve as a reminder to all Christians that God demands they stand up to evil, rather than turn away and pretend it does not exist. But, although his one-man campaign was a tremendous success, he is quick to note, "The effort was God-inspired, because I couldn't have done this by myself."
Still, a spokesman for the pro-family group American Family Association believes Sligar deserves some kudos. AFA's Randy Sharp says, "In the city of Atlanta, with millions of people, one person has effectively turned a radio station upside down and is forcing it to comply with local community standards."
