ACLU Against Free Speech if the Speech is Religious
As is typical for this time of year, the ACLU is shaking down towns and schools to keep them from acknowledging Christmas. Despite the fact that everyone gets off December 25th and the only holiday that is being celebrated is Christmas (sorry Kwanzaa is a joke), the Republic will crumble if that fact is acknowledged.
The latest battle took place in Berkley, Michigan where the ACLU threatened a lawsuit if the city did not remove a nativity display from public grounds. For the most part, the episode is exactly what has played out in most other fronts of the War on Christmas. One interesting anecdote, however, stands out.
One of the compromises that was suggested to the ACLU was the creation of a “free speech zone.” This would be an area outside most government control where citizens could put up holiday displays of their own choosing. The ACLU was dead set against this idea. Their rationale? Citizens would use their free expression to support Christmas. The “defenders” of the Bill of Rights stood against free speech.
The First Amendment is clear, while establishing a state religion is illegal, so is prohibiting free expression of religion. The First Amendment requires institutional separation, not public atheism.
If someone wants to put up a Hanukkah display, fine. If someone wants to put up a Kwanzaa display, they need to find a holiday that’s not a complete invention. A diverse and pluralistic society doesn’t seek to squelch cultures; it seeks to respect them all. The ACLU isn’t interested in a diverse and pluralistic society.
This nation celebrates the same holiday on December 25th, that holiday is called Christmas. As the name implies, it celebrates the birth of a person who did, in fact, exist in history. It is undeniable that this person has a profound impact on the world and history. Many people, even atheists, celebrate a secular version of this same holiday.
It is time for the ACLU to stop rewriting our institutions, our culture, our history, and our traditions. A free nation doesn’t need a band of elite lawyers to tell us how to behave in public. It certainly doesn’t need an aristocracy of lawyers and jurists using government power to keep us from exercising our freedom.
What’s wrong with placing the nativity scene at a church? Why does it have to be on public property?
The ACLU is absolutely right.
Comment by Cubist | November 21, 2006
I’ve raised several concerns about your post.
Comment by Jeff M | November 22, 2006
You really should try to read the entire story before you attempt to pass the information on to the readers of your blog. Misinformation like this is what takes the integrity and legitimacy out of blogging. Much like Rush Limbaugh did with talk radio.
Comment by Jason | November 23, 2006
And I must ad, I share your view of the ACLU and the War on Christmas. I just don’t like to see an ideology I accept myself being represented with falsehoods and half truths. Behavior like this just makes it harder for the rest of us to achieve anything of import in the world (though we still manage).
Comment by Jason | November 23, 2006