July 4^th,  the day to celebrate and remember what America’s all about.

On this fraught-filled, future-fearing  July 4^th I sure as hell hope we’re all taking the remembering seriously.

Because Agitator’s mission focuses on direct response fundraising, I’ll forego the usual patriotic platitudes.  Instead for Independence Day 2022 I’m invoking the memory and wisdom of one of my great direct mail heroes – John Prine.

“John Prine!!!”, those of you old enough to know of this great songwriter, shout.  “What does he have to do with direct mail and patriotism?”

Plenty.

Let’s start the celebration story here.

John Prine, long before his Grammy awards was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal service in the late 1960s.  Adding to his workday load was an extraordinarily successful promotion by Readers Digest, a mass circulation, direct-mail grown magazine –kinda the Fox News of its day—styling itself as a protector of American freedoms and morality.

In the February 1968 issue, apparently fearing a lack of support for the Vietnam War, the Digest launched a “Fly this Flag Proudly” campaign, inserting flag decals

[freemiums] into 18 million copies of the magazine.  A follow-up survey indicated that 78% of readers had detached the flag decal, and half of those had put it to use.

Prine, whose carrier route had lots and lots of Digest subscribers, recalled “We [the letter carriers] hated to see Readers Digest come.  At the height of the Vietnam War, there was a silent majority, they were really quiet. Readers Digest was part of it, they just stuck these plastic flags in their magazine, no reason, they just snuck them in there.  The next day, there were flag decals everywhere. “

A  Prine song was born.  With playfulness and wit “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” took on the subject of  that “silent majority.”  (Today, they and their kin are neither silent nor a majority.)

Damn!  This is some great copywriting.   The opening line, even with the misplaced modifier the grammar wonks on your Copy Committee will no doubt focus on,  is a model to follow.

While digesting Reader’s Digest in the back of a dirty bookstore

A plastic flag with gum on the back fell out on the floor

Prine takes the flag with him and sticks it on his windshield, which by the end of the song is so full up with patriotic displays he can’t see out of it. When he dies in a car crash, the narrator finds himself denied entrance to Heaven because:

Your flag decal won’t get you into Heaven anymore

We’re already overcrowded from your dirty little war

Now Jesus don’t like killing, no matter what the reasons for

And your flag decal won’t get you into Heaven anymore

I’m sure the folks who believe in wrecking democracy, enslaving women, carbonizing the climate, gunning down school kids, and kissing autocratic ass won’t approve.  But on this Independence Day maybe this is the anthem we should be standing up for.

Roger

P.S.