Taylor Darcy.com

The American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU is currently working to help maintain the constitutional rights that are given to all people through legislation and through defending individual’s whose rights have been infringed. They work within the legal system through civil procedures to procure the rights of all American’s regardless of the person’s agenda or political standing. According to the ACLU’s website,

“The ACLU is our nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

These rights include:

Your First Amendment rights – freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.

Your right to equal protection under the law – protection against unlawful discrimination.

Your right to due process – fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.

Your right to privacy – freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.

The ACLU also works to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.

If the rights of society’s most vulnerable members are denied, everybody’s rights are imperiled.”

I think the ACLU’s methods of change are the most realistic given the current climate. Certainly other methods might be more graphic or ostentatious however given that many of those methods of change such as violence or guerilla tactics can be illegal; they can in some instances thwart the efforts of change by not allowing the justice system to work. That being said individuals do have to stand up and make injustices known and occasionally that does require more than civil procedures. I think a person’s voice can be the most powerful agent of change and the ACLU delivers this change to so many different potential injustices such as capital punishment, free speech, human rights, immigrant rights, prisoners’ rights, etc. I think the ACLU’s diversity is what makes it such a powerful agent of change. It doesn’t focus on just one issue of change and this can mean that it has many sources of power.

Contrarily, this significant amount of diversity can mean that they are unable to take minor cases or deal with seemingly insignificant issues. This can mean that some areas of change might be overlooked or fall to the bottom of the pile. Additionally this can mean that the details of each case can be more about the issues and less about the individual.

Finally, the ACLU uses the modern media to educate individuals on the issues that are most relevant to the freedom they want for all people regardless of their socioeconomic status and heritage. This education can influence others to help make the changes and seek the justice of others.

I have quite a few friends that support the Arizona Illegal Immigration bill based on fear, they believe that they are being patriots, but I pose the question patriots to what? Our founding fathers wanted freedom from oppression, the Declaration of Independence is a timeless document that despite the political climate of the time transcends the power struggles that they faced then and unfortunately we face now.

Here it is over two-hundred years later and we are still fighting the same fight, those who have the power are trying to keep it from those who do not. The ACLU attempts to equal the playing field by ensuring the civil liberties that are given in the constitution are enforced. I am aware that my opinions may not be popular with some; however I also believe that the majority of the public are uninformed about our current justice system. Despite legislation to eliminate racial inequalities we still suffer from them today and until there is equality for all, there is equality for none.

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