I'm beginning to think that you live in a purely abstract world, and literally can't see evident truth.
Peter
One specific that you might find a bit uncomfortable if you think that ACLU is out to undermine America.
The evident truth is that the ACLU defends your right and my right to burn the Koran.
You may not have a clear view of the difference between the the abstract and the concrete but let me suggest that all generalizations, and all inferences from the specific to the general, are abstractions.
You and I might depend on generalizations and inferences to make sense of the world, but no one lives in a "purely abstract world."
The idea that the ACLU has (according to Robert Wagner) "a Marxist agenda" with the goal of undermining America.
Doesn't this strike you as pure propaganda without any grounding in reality?
Let's address specifics:
One example among many: Harper v. Poway, whether a student can wear a T-shirt denouncing homosexuality. The ACLU staunchly supports the right of students to wear T-shirts that promote homosexuality, but when free speech opposes homosexuality, the ACLU is mute.
Peter
This is an excellent example of the ACLU failing to defend the free speech rights of students.
Let me suggest a few counter-examples where the ACLU has stood up for the freedom of religious practice:
(A list of more than 100 specific instances, over just the last 10 years, where the ALCU has stood up for the the freedom to practice religion can be found at
http://www.aclufl.org/issues/religious_liberty/defendingreligion.cfm )
In 2006, The ACLU filed a lawsuit in support of the right of the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas City, Missouri to picket service member's funerals with signs condemning homosexuality.
The ACLU of Florida (2007) argued in favor of the right of Christians to protest against a gay pride event held in the City of St. Petersburg. The City had proposed limiting opposition speech, including speech motivated by religious beliefs, to restricted ?free speech zones.? After receiving the ACLU?s letter, the City revised its proposed ordinance.
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/StPeteLetter.pdfThe ACLU and the ACLU of Virginia (2009) argued against the censorship of religious materials being sent to detainees in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. The ACLU wrote a letter to the superintendent of the jail, asking that the jail cease the removal of Christian-themed materials and biblical passages from letters written to detainees.
http://www.aclu.org/prison/restrict/40258prs20090709.htmlThe ACLU of Louisiana (2009) argued in favor of the right of Christian preachers to distribute pamphlets at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. The ACLU wrote a letter to the mayor in support of the preachers, who had been ordered to stop handing out religious material.
http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=thetowntalk&sParam=30796437.storyThe ACLU of Louisiana (2009) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Donald Leger, a devout Catholic and prisoner on death row at Angola State Prison. The lawsuit challenges the prison?s policy mandating that all televisions on death row be tuned to predominately Baptist programming on Sunday mornings. Under the terms of a settlement in the case, Mr. Leger was able to view Catholic Mass regularly and was permitted private confessional visits with a priest.
http://www.laaclu.org/newsArchive.php?id=342#n342The ACLU of Texas (2009) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a Christian pastor and his faith-based rehabilitation facility in Sinton, Texas. The ACLU of Texas urged the court to reverse a decision that prohibited the pastor from operating his rehabilitation program near his church and also sharply limited the reach of the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). In June 2009, the Texas Supreme Court agreed and ruled in favor of the pastor.
http://aclutx.org/article.php?aid=726 You might be able to counter every one of these instances as well as the 95 or so other instances at
http://www.aclufl.org/issues/religious_liberty/defendingreligion.cfmBut I suspect you will want to hold on to your abstract view that the ACLU is trying to undermine America rather than argue specifics.
Columbus Townhall > Forum > Politics > International (Moderators: Peter, CTH Public Relations)
Topic: Burning the KORAN?
