A grassroots populist effort to convince leadership of the pay TV channel HBO to bring back the series “John from Cincinnati” has been launched in a big way.

Using the Web site SaveJFC.net as a focal point, fans of the innovative and unconventional series are actively lobbying HBO executives to reconsider the decision to cancel the show after one 10-episode season.

Is this simply an effort by fans of a TV show to have their program given a second season?

Or is it more than that?

The fact that this campaign to bring back the series is being generated from average Americans shows us once again that democracy and grassroots action can be effective not only in political and social spheres, but also in the activities and behaviors of our mass media.

It also indicates that leaders in media, government, education, commerce and other fields are wise to be responsive to the intelligence of the people.

The wisdom of average Americans, coming from the bottom up, has frequently been found to be worth paying attention to.

Despite the fact that much of our media, governmental, economic and social processes and activities flow from the top down, the perception of average people, including fans of “John from Cincinnati,” is a significant viewpoint that is important.

WHY BRING BACK “JOHN?”

For those who didn’t catch the series when it premiered this past summer, the story, on the surface, centers around a San Diego-area family of three generations of surfers: the grandfather, his adult son, the third-generation 14-year-old and a circle of family, friends and acquaintances.

In the first episode, an unusual stranger shows up. This is John. And soon, unusual things start to happen. Metaphysical and paranormal things. Anomalous phenomena.

The surfing grandfather spontaneously levitates several inches off the ground. A pet bird is brought back to life.

In a later episode, the 14-year-old is totally healed after a devastating surfing accident and after a hospital physician has declared him brain-dead.

And these incidents are followed by other unusual occurrences that delve into current emerging discoveries about quantum physics and human consciousness.