BACKGROUND By Stan Cotton Following 911, and with America at heart, I gave thought about what could I do. One night I sprang out of bed like a man with a leg cramp. "Why not start an Oil Independence League."O.I.L. But oil in itself wasn't the problem. The problem is achieving independence from foreign oil. Put Foreign in front of Oil Independence League and you have F.O.I.L.
F.O.I.L could well be the vehicle to be behind a consumer push to find alternative energy resources and shut down foreign oil spigots. But how would I reach the people with sufficient conviction to rally them to fight foreign oil and high gas prices.
I knew that the patriotic poster has been used as a social statement to spread ideas, recruit people, promote causes, urge conservation of resources, sway public opinion and unite people, as a rallying cry is back and it's copy, appeal and message can be used as forerunner for all other media.
I created a series of posters shown to be used as a shock prop, a wake up call, to help free America from foreign oil dependence through expanded use of American made energy sources. The poster of a Terrorist manned airliner with barrels of foreign oil under the wings on a collision course with a city skyline is about as subtle as one of those stockyard sledge-hammer they use to stun cattle. It was intended to key in on the anger and outpouring of democracy that resulted from the 911 attacks.
This was serious stuff. What's with the camels on the oil drums, some kind of racist crack? Just what we need, reactionary propaganda.
Propaganda can be good. In this case, it's Cher in "Moonstruck," slapping Nicholas Cage in the face and saying, "Snap out of it."
Foreign Oil Independence is a travesty. It is an outrage! Look at the poster. Look at the FOIL poster series. If your outrage is directed at the silly camels on the oil drums, or the Twin Towers and not this nation's abject, short-sighted and criminal neglect of clean, renewable energy funding, then you're sillier than the politicians that won't back alternative energy issues.
| | Despite early support by the South Dakota VFW, once the posters were distributed and billboards went up, the contributions to use to purchase the media dried up...instantly.
Why? Political pressure. All the gutless wonders running so-called ethanol grassroots organizations hung up on "appearances" and not results, the farmers and plant owners making fortunes of ethanol backed off. Now in 2010 look at where the ethanol industry is as at today. Left with little or no support from the public they could have owned. The excuses they used: "Nobody wants to see the truth." - "We can't risk alienating the politicians taking campaign funds from Big Oil interests."etc. "Not dignified." Etc. The rest of the lame excuses you can guess.
The Foreign Oil Independence League (joinfoil.org) a for-profit group is looking to partner with public-spirited or individuals to push for increased use of the alternative fuel. FOIL's mission is to raise citizen awareness and subsequently fuel a true entrepreneurial enterprise that will reach every corner of this nation.
FOIL's mission is to raise the bar and fuel a true entrepreneurial enterprise that will reach the masses without being stuffy about it.
SOMEBODY WITH COURAGE IS OUT THERE.
The goal is not to attract elitist groups with elitist thinking who say they are out to "change the system," but only end up perpetuating it. They go about it in a "dignified" way - with pedantic, ponderous and pontifical newsletters about their lobbying and how hard management is working.
If any event in American history could raise citizens' ire to the point of turning ploughshares into swords, it is this one.
The solution is in plain sight. Average citizens have to learn whose side politicians are on. Knowledge is power. hence, the FOIL "Inquiry" is a good place to start.
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