What Happened to the ACLU?

Once upon a time the ACLU looked out for everyone’s civil liberties; they were the number one defender of the first amendment, protecting even unpopular views and speech because the right to hold and speak even the most distasteful ideas is a basic tenet of our government.  The tolerance that such free speech engenders is a necessary ingredient of our democracy.  At one time I was on the board of directors of a local ACLU chapter in large part because I feel so strongly about these constitutional protections.  So, you will understand my dismay when I received the below described questionnaire (really a request for money) from the national ACLU.

The mailing begins with a cover letter that makes clear the ACLU’s complete loathing for President Trump.  (Actually, they seem unable to even refer to him as President).  While once upon a time the ACLU only took the side of free speech and the constitution, it now appears to take sides with the anti-Trumpers and the Progressive Left agenda to stop anything Trump, regardless of the fact that some actions that they may find distasteful are fully constitutional and reflect the voice of the people who elected President Trump.  While the letter claims to request money to help the ACLU “defend the Constitution and the rights it protects,” a look at the detailed text of the letter and the questionnaire that accompanies it reveal that what the ACLU really wants to do is suppress any free speech that is contrary to the positions of the Left and in so doing suppress the tolerance for other and opposing views that is the embodiment of the first amendment and of our democratic republic.

The mailing requests my support because I am “alarmed” by Donald Trump’s “abuses of power” and the “deep and lasting damage” that he will do to our democracy.  They give no specifics.  But I wonder why they are focused only on such abuses by President Trump.  If indeed he has abused power, so have many others, both Democrat and Republican.  Why is the focus only anti-Trump?

The mailing suggests that “voter suppression laws and baseless claims about voter fraud” will impact the 2018 elections.  Well, on what evidence do they find these claims baseless?  Just today I read of an individual who was sentenced to jail time in Virginia for registering dead people to vote as Democrats.  Was that baseless?  Or is the wording of the questionnaire simply to stir up some anti-Trump sentiment since it is the position of the Left that any attempt to insure that only legitimate voters vote is somehow considered an affront to our democracy?

The mailing suggests we must now be concerned because we will now see immigration raids that are racist and that will tear families apart.  Again, what evidence?  And, hasn’t deportation always had the potential to “tear families apart”?  Actually, enforcement of any law has the potential of tearing families apart.  And, calling such enforcement racist just perpetuates the Left’s use of identity politics which has succeeded only in tearing this country apart and in justifying suppression of free speech.  It is appalling that the ACLU, once the defender of free speech for all, would engage in the use of this tactic.

The mailing suggests we must be worried because the President and Congress “will succeed in defunding Planned Parenthood and passing a federal abortion ban.”  This statement assumes that we all agree with the pro-abortion position and implies that there is something wrong with those who don’t.  Again, there are many in this country who would applaud such a move; does the ACLU disregard their view?  The intolerance here is obvious and, from a group that claims to represent the civil liberties of all it is most disappointing.

The mailing asks if the reader agrees that banning refuges and others based on their religion violates our principles.  In the context of this questionnaire the question expects the reader to assume that is what the Trump administration is doing and thus prompt the answer of agreement.  But, the Trump travel bans on their face are not based on religion, so the entire premise of the question is false.  And shame on the ACLU for using this tactic to again support the Democrat agenda.

Finally, the mailer asks if the reader is concerned about “the disregard for the First Amendment and the suppression of free speech and protest that is emanating from the White House?”  Why, I wonder, is there nothing about the disregard for the First Amendment and the suppression of free speech and protest that is emanating from the Left, from the Democrats, from all the anti-Trumpers who believe that any speech favorable to the President or in disagreement with the views of the Left should not be tolerated and can and should be suppressed with impunity?

The full questionnaire completely disregards any attacks on civil liberties or suppression of free speech that is furthered by the Left.   It incorporates unfounded statements about President Trump into its questions in a way that makes them appear as if they were established fact.  It reads like the sort of propaganda that one gets from a political party.  So, sadly, I must assume that the ACLU, once the defender of freedom for all Americans, has now become the tool of the Left. 

Who, then, is left to defend free speech for all?  Who then will fight against the suppression of free speech that is furthered by the Left in the name of “tolerance” but which is really a demand that only their views be tolerated?  This defense, this fight is crucial, for without this basic tenet of our form of government, without a tolerance for many diverse views, even those that are not popular with the Left and their power structure, without our constitutional freedoms our democracy is no more.  Now that the ACLU seems to have joined forces with the Left, those with opposing views must be vigilant, for the Left is more than eager to deny them the first amendment freedoms to which every citizen in this country is entitled.