I'm Just Sayin'

I guess the place to start here is a brief outline of the history if the ACLU. In 1920, Crystal Eastman and Roger Baldwin founded the ACLU. Today the ACLU reports a membership of over 500,000 and it's stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the constitution and laws of the United States." The ACLU is a marvel of organized efficiency. In order to focus upon important local issues, this organization bases it's headquarters in New York City but has 53 locally based operating agencies or affiliates, each with it's own board of directors and staff. Each of these affiliate offices is registered as separate 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities.  This allows tremendous flexibility with respect to responding to very local situations and the need for help or council. It also is beneficial with respect to the educational efforts of the ACLU as they are able to better target these efforts. The ACLU operates as the ACLU Foundation which focuses on litigation and policy distribution and education and as the American Civil Liberties Union which, because it's effort is geared toward legislative lobbying, does not have tax exempt status. Most of the funding for the ACLU and the ACLU Foundation comes from private donations...about 87%. Other sources of income include awards of legal fees from litigation, royalty income, the sale of literature and from investment income. It also receives funding from certain foundations.

Most of us are familiar with at least some of the efforts and court cases in which the ACLU has been a part.  And most of us have cheered a cause or effort the ACLU has taken on ... and I'm sure, cussed a few also. From this point forward this article will be riddled with my personal opinions. I will be biased and unabashedly so. The comment feature of this blog site allows for rebuttal and I encourage it's use.

The ACLU is the watchdog for rational thought and logical application of equal opportunities and Constitutional guarantees. Rational and logical are key words here. Most of the decisions we make are best considered without or in the absence of emotion and that is why many of the efforts of the ACLU meet with so much controversy. Briefly, here are the major positions of the ACLU:

Religious liberty...meaning that the protection of the first amendment is of paramount importance to the continued freedom of the  choice of worship or non worship we own. Most of us are in support of this effort, however there are some who have made a mission of insisting that superior insight gives them permission to insist that all are subject to the moral judgements of their interpretation of their god's laws. This group of people hates the ACLU.

The separation of church and state......In order to allow for religious freedoms for all, no state agency must be influenced by any of the various religious entities. Again, most of us subscribe to this policy, but there are some who want their religion to be part of the government. This group of people hates the ACLU.

Full freedom of speech and the press...we all are allowed to speak our minds. Dissent is even protected when it is directed against the government. Some think that they alone are specially qualified to think for the rest of us. This group of people hates the ACLU.

Abolishment of capitol punishment....this is one of the most debated topics the ALCU has addressed. Opinion is all over the map on this one and each side has valid points....proponents of the policy of capital punishment frequently hate the ACLU.

Reproductive rights or the right to use contraceptives AND the right to have an abortion.  This is bigger than the capitol punishment issue. Another reason for some..a bunch of people, to hate the ACLU.

Full civil rights for  lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans gender people, including government benefits for same-sex couples equal to those provided for heterosexual ones. Narrow minded, often the morally anointed and thus morally superior hate the ACLU because of this stance.

Affirmative action as a means by which racially diverse student body can be established. Hey...I hate the ACLU for this one!!! 

The rights of defendants and suspects against unconstitutional practices....almost all of us are afraid of a run away police state and abusive police powers..few hate the ACLU because of this ACLU effort.

The decimalization of drugs...pot, heroin, opium, coke...all that stuff... I could really get going on this one. The war on drugs..ie.. the war against the rights of any of us to destroy ourselves if we wish is a hot topic and one of the most flagrant violations of logic and reason we have ever been a part. But still, many hate the ACLU because of this effort.

The protection of privacy...this has become a lightening rod of support for the ACLU as the current administration has violated the monkey shit out of this one.  Some hate the ACLU for this one, but they are probably a part of the very small percentage of Americans who think Bush is doing a good job. This dwindling number includes mostly delusional, brain dead and morally corrupt members of our society.

Immigrants' rights...this topic of concern is, in my opinion, given the least consideration and careful thought by most Americans. It's a complex issue, but one that is tainted with a high level of emotional distortion. Some of us hate the ACLU because of this support of immigrants' rights, but I think those have not REALLY considered the complete issue and the facts of this policy.

Gun control...the ACLU has basically declared itself to be neutral on this issue!  The ACLU has determined that the Second Amendment is not an individual guarantee to keep and bear arms and they have stepped aside in order to encourage each individual STATE to determine how much freedom of protection should be allowed the residents of each state.  Hey...I hate the ACLU for this one too...well I hate this policy of the ACLU's.

The above outline of the ACLU's positions was taken, mostly from wikipedia. It's just a general outline of these positions and is not complete with regards to all of the activities of the ACLU.  

There are many organizations who have dedicated themselves to the opposition of the ACLU....like this one: www.stoptheaclu.com . This is amazing. Rather than take separate issue with the ACLU depending on the topic at hand, these people are at complete  odds with the ACLU...this is a quote from one of the letters posted on their website, "If you are a faithful Stop the ACLU reader, you know full well that we do all we can to expose the ACLU and its affinity for the unnatural and perverse".  Do what???

The application of reason and logic to the decisions we make as we determine our parameters of freedom cannot be allowed by those who have narrow minded, bigoted beliefs. My effort as I write this article, is to encourage the unbiased consideration of all the facts and ramifications of each topic we address rather than the blanket dismissal of one of the most valuable groups of Constitution protectors we have. "If the rights of society's most vulnerable are denied, everybody's rights are imperiled."

Even when the ACLU is protecting the rights of someone we consider to be the worst of the worst...we can only support their effort and we must realize  that the overall concept and protocol is more important than the specific individual the ACLU protects. Actually there is really no such thing as specific protection...the protection is one of the protection of an ideal....in the broad sense. Just as the trial defense of a known child molester has to be vigorous and complete, we must allow for concept of presumed innocence. Our legal system would collapse otherwise.

I am of the opinion that the ACLU is one of the most important organizations  in existence. I don't agree with everything they do...no one does. But the thing to take into close consideration is that we are being protected by the ACLU...all of us.