ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union

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In a time of need, the American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU formed on January 19, 1920 to protect the rights and civil liberties of those who could not for themselves. In theory, the ACLU should “defend and secure these rights and to extend them to people who have been excluded from their protection” (ProCon) At the start of the organization, they succeeded in running their union, and helped bring about major changes in the way Americans saw others, and the ACLU gained rights for the marginalized. Countless examples can be seen in cases such as Brandenburg V. Ohio in which the organization defended the rights to free speech and other civil liberties. However, that was the ACLU of the past, the group today stands far from its former self, …show more content…
This once proud, helpful organization has turned into a shield for some of most grotesque individuals in the country, and thus destroyed their previous reputation in the process. As time has gone on, the group has strayed from the original message of their leader Roger Nash Baldwin who had the right idea when it came to defending the civil liberties of others by not trampling on the same rights of others. As Mathew Vandum States “ "The ACLU's intellectual incoherence seems to stem from the views of its principal founder and longtime leader, Roger Nash Baldwin... It defends terrorists, illegal aliens and child molesters, while letting law-abiding Americans and victims of reverse racism fend for themselves." (Pro Con) The organizations pitfall lies in the fact that they defend those who deserve to be apprehended for their punishment. While the previous ACLU defended the rights of those marginalized in a successful manner, the ACLU of today no longer serves the USA in its intended manner and thus is no longer good for …show more content…
As time has passed the group has lost the way of its founder Roger Baldwin. It no longer seeks to protect the civil liberties of all groups by raising everyone to an equal level, but rather through the suppression of certain groups. As Melody Wood states: “"Unlike the ACLU of the past, the ACLU of the present believes only certain religious beliefs are worthy of protection and that others should be suppressed.” (ProCon) Wood raises the point that while the group originally intended to do the right thing through the correct moral means of the world, they have grown selective of who they support. Thus, as time goes on their actions both directly and indirectly silence the voice of many in society. The idea of silencing other groups in an effort to defend a certain group are preposterous and hypocritical of a group steeped in the idea of civil liberties. As Carson Holloway states: “The ACLU is trying to deprive other organizations of freedoms that it would insist upon for itself. Their work is not a defense of equality” (ProCon) The group no longer goes about defending the marginalized groups in a fair way for all. They push their own agenda into the minds of Americas, and attempt to silence those who stand in their way. A huge discrepancy arises when the group is rocked by scandals that clearly violate their own mission as a group, and thus they lose their credibility
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