June 2020 – In January 1838, Abraham Lincoln addressed a school of young boys in Springfield, Illinois. Months earlier, a young abolitionist named Elijah Lovejoy had been murdered by a violent mob in Alton, Illinois. At the age of 28, decades before fame or presidency, Lincoln took the stage to talk about the security of the nation, racially charged by the murder.

“At what point then,” asked Lincoln, “is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

In other words, the only entity that can topple America is America itself.

According to Dr. David Black, founder of 2ndVote, this is a struggle that continues 182 years later, in today’s America, with the nation and its moral values under assault from the inside.

“Every day we witness the attack on our traditional Judeo-Christian culture and the manipulation of our children,” Black told AFA Journal. “Our society is being assaulted by overwhelming anti-Christian messaging that will negatively influence our future.”

Counting the votes
Another presidential election is in full swing.

In November, millions will get out and vote for one candidate or the other, choosing the next U.S. president. Odds are that most voters will purposefully vote for their carefully chosen candidate.

However, imagine if they voted blindly, aimlessly supporting a random candidate. Black contends this concept happens every single day in America, in a way many have never considered. 

“Your first vote is at the ballot box every two years,” he explained. “Your second vote is the dollar you spend
each day.”

In 2011, Black’s wife Diane began two terms as Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District representative in Washington. It was the same year that, back home one day, the Blacks were grocery shopping, and the cashier asked him if he’d like to donate to March of Dimes. He gave a small gift, and they exited the store.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“Give to March of Dimes! They support Planned Parenthood(PP).”

“I was stunned to learn this,” Black recalled, “and wondered why I didn’t already know that. And then I wondered what else I didn’t know.” (Incidentally, March of Dimes is still listed as a supporter of PP in 2019 at familycouncil.org.)

That discovery launched Black on an immediate quest to research more groups – nonprofit and for-profit – tracking where his money went after he spent it. That quest soon led to the founding of 2ndVote, a nonprofit service that exists to inform Americans where their money goes after they spend it.

“For over 50 years,” said Black, “the radical Left has been busy influencing corporate and nonprofit dollars to quietly support their [liberal] causes. Christians, conservatives, and constitutionalists do not understand that it is their money that is funding the attack on their values and their children’s future.

“We look to educate individuals on how they spend or how they donate their dollars and advise them on seven critical issues that are under attack by the Left.”

2ndVote aims to make people more aware that, just like their first vote at the ballot box, their second vote can have an enormous impact as well. The work of Black and his team highlights key areas that are battlegrounds concerning American culture and morality.

Keeping the score
“After nine years of research,” Black stated, “we have identified the seven Judeo-Christian values that the Left is attacking to destroy our culture: life, religious liberty, 2nd amendment, marriage, immigration, education, and
environment.”

At 2ndvote.com, Black’s team displays a score for a vast array of U.S. corporations, in many different sectors, including retailers as well as restaurant, grocery, healthcare, and transportation industries.

2ndVote gives each company a score from one to five, with one having a liberal bent, five having a conservative bent, and three being politically neutral.

Each company is scored concerning its stance on the seven areas Black cited above. The team of researchers at 2ndVote analyzes each organization’s public stance and donation history before scoring it accordingly.

“We obtain tax records,” described Black, “of tax-deductible donations, public statements of executives, sponsorship information, of fundraising events, of bad actor nonprofits, and other verifiable data.” 

“After collecting the information,” said Black, “we send a registered letter to the CEO and chief legal officer of the organization notifying them of our findings. This gives the organization a chance to correct our research if it is incorrect. It also places them on notice that we are watching what they are doing.”  

The scores of these businesses and organizations can be found on the site, free of charge. Also displayed, below the company’s score, is a group of competing establishments that better support the moral issues such as life and the Second Amendment. 

For example, Pizza Hut has a score of two, indicating the company supports liberal causes and organizations more than conservative ones. 2ndVote provides a list of other pizza restaurants that lean more conservative, such as Papa John’s and Little Caesars.

In addition to monitoring where large businesses and corporations give their money, 2ndVote also offers an incredibly simple way to ensure one’s money ends up supporting the conservative moral issues: Shop local.

“Go to those local places that you know support your values,” advised Black. “Those are the people you know, you go to church with, or support your little league.”

Many in today’s culture oppose the Christian principles that 2ndVote stands for. The political Left is bent against life, moral absolutes, and many other traits that 2ndVote wishes to instill in Americans. However, all is not lost. Conservative citizens of this nation are more than capable of exacting change, and 2ndVote is a tremendous tool that can aid in that change.

As Lincoln warned, danger has indeed sprung up amongst us: “If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher.” Likewise, if the faith and moral anchors this great nation was founded upon are to be preserved, the duty rests entirely on informed Americans defending those values with their votes – and their pocketbooks.

“We must be strong,” said Black. “We must be bold, and we must act to defend our nation, a nation blessed by God since our founding.”   

More of the story
Dr. David Black is president of 2ndVote, a veteran of the Vietnam War, and a doctor in forensic toxicology (University of Maryland at Baltimore). He founded Aegis Sciences Corporation in Nashville in 1990 and built the life sciences firm into a multi-million dollar entity before retiring in 2016.

Amy Wilhite is executive director of 2ndVote and oversees full-time staff members, who have a variety of education and experience backgrounds, and who understand the power of technology and social media in this modern age.

2ndVote also works with six consultants who provide expertise in areas such as church engagement and information technology. Learn more at 2ndvote.com.