Bud Stewart:
The groups mission statement is very noble, but some of their practices seem amoral to me, just my opinion.
The ACLU doesn’t qualify for sainthood in my conception of same, but the roster of unpopular causes in which they have fought the good fight, on the side of right and against injustice, outweighs the instances in which they have stepped over the line of reason. Just to name a few well-known examples, the ACLU took an active role in the Sacco-Vanzetti case, the trial of the Scottsboro Seven, the Scopes “Monkey” trial, the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans, and Brown v. Board of Education.
From a 1999 ACLU Position Paper:
The ACLU is frequently asked to explain its defense of certain people or groups - particularly controversial and unpopular entities such as the American Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Nation of Islam. We do not defend them because we agree with them; rather we defend their right to free expression and free assembly. Historically, the people whose opinions are the most controversial or extreme are the people whose rights are most often threatened. Once the government has the power to violate one person’s rights, it can use that power against everyone. We work to stop the erosion of civil liberties before it’s too late.
If, BTW, you fall into any of the following categories (and I defy you to determine that none potentially apply to you), you might want to look in your local paperback bookstore for the applicable ACLU book on the topic - from its “Rights of” series - each is an incredible compendium of useful information on the rights of the named population:
Aliens & Refugees
Authors, Artists, & Other Creative People
Crime Victims
Employees & Union Members
Families
Indians & Tribes
Lesbians & Gay Men
Older Persons
Patients
People Who Are HIV Positive
People with Mental Disabilities
Prisoners
Protestors
Public Employees
Racial Minorities
Students
Women
as well as those on:
Your Right to Government Information;
Your Right to Privacy; and,
Your Right to Religious Liberty
A CNN story a few days ago told of a church group ordered to cease using a local public park, where they were using a creek to perform baptisms. The ACLU is defending the church group’s right to use of the creek for its baptismal ceremonies.
Many years,
Neil