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The ACLU: What It Means by 'Civil Liberties'
| Article
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12661 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1987 |
5,710 Words |
| Author
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William A. Donohue
William A. Donohue is the author of The Politics of the
American Civil Liberties Union and the New Freedom. He teaches
sociology at La Roche College in Pittsburgh. |
This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the Constitution. Much of the attention has justly centered on the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights, which was written in 1789 and formally ratified two years later, is a list of restraints placed on the federal government to ensure individual and states' rights. That is the original meaning of the term civil liberties: individual and states' rights that cannot be vetoed by a majority of the people.
No organization has received more credit for defending the Bill of Rights than the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU's reputation hinges largely on its image as a nonpartisan watchdog of civil liberties. Law professors and the media generally regard the ACLU as a politically disinterested organization, one which seeks to defend civil liberties for all Americans. "The Bill of Rights is our only client" is more than the ACLU's motto; it is accepted as the raison d'etre of the organization.
Over ten years of research on the ACLU has convinced me that its reputation is largely undeserved. From its inception sixty-seven years ago, the ACLU has remained a politically driven, liberal-left partisan, dedicated to the transformation of American society. It uses civil liberties as a means toward its ends.
The ACLU has clearly made significant contributions to freedom in America. For example, it has had more to do with ensuring the free circulation of ideas than any organization in the county. What is not generally recognized, however, is the ACLU's selective approach to civil liberties. The issues it seizes and, more importantly, the conclusions it reaches
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