The American Family Association :: Exploratory Essays

The American Family Association A simple observation of television commercials between segments of a sitcom can find many aspects of life that our founding fathers worked to eliminate. Those who laid the building blocks for this country built it with trust in God. They wanted to build a country based on the Bible. In today’s society, that goal is no longer a priority, and violence and sex are seen each and every day. However, there is one group that is working to re-establish these morals in today’s society. The American Family Association, or AFA as it is referred to, believes that the entertainment industry has played a significant role in the deterioration of the values on which our country was founded and which keep our families and society as a whole strong. As stated on the homepage, the American Family Association, founded in 1977 by Don Wildmon, is a non-profit organization that represents and stands for traditional family values, focusing primarily on the influence of television and other media on our society. The mission statement of the AFA gives a summation of their purpose: â€Å"The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip citizens in the culture to reflect Biblical truth (AFA Online).† The AFA believes that God has communicated the absolute truth to man through the Bible and that each person is subject to God’s authority at all times. The AFA trusts that a society based on Biblical truth best aids the well-being of a culture, and reflects the vision of our country’s founding fathers. The group believes in holding companies accountable for attacks on traditional family values, as well as approving companies who are responsible for the programs which they support. The American Family Association was organized in an indirect manner. As stated in the AFA homepage, President Don Wildmon tells about the group’s formation in his own words: One evening in 1977 I sat down with my family to watch TV. On one channel was adultery, on another cursing, on another a man beating another over the head with a hammer.