October 17, 2002 8:18 PM

Someone's got to stand up for free speech

The American Civil Liberties Union rolled out a national campaign Wednesday to challenge government anti-terror policies that the group deems undemocratic.

The ACLU may be a lightning rod for Conservatives, but the reality is that they do this country a tremndous service. By standing up for rights and liberties that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution, the ACLU sheds light on efforts by government to encroach on those rights. Their "Keep America Safe And Free" campaign is simply more of the same.

"The Bush administration has presented Americans with a false dichotomy that we must choose between being safe or free," said ACLU national spokeswoman Emily Whitfield. "We're saying there doesn't have to be a choice. We can stay safe and free at the same time."

The ACLU has filed 24 lawsuits for civil liberties violations since the Sept. 11 attacks, including several for airline passengers who claim they were kicked off flights or singled out for questioning because of their dark skin.

The group will air television spots featuring a close-up of a hand cutting up and re-writing the U.S. Constitution as a voiceover charges Attorney General John Ashcroft with violating the First and Fourth amendments, which guarantee free speech and guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The ACLU is also actively looking for people who feel they have been "victimized" by the expanded government powers granted by the Patriot Act or Operation TIPS, which encourages the public to report their neighbors' suspicious behavior to the FBI. (The site states that more than 200,000 tips have been filed since Sept. 11.)

Voicing dissent is something that is quintessentially American. One of the things that makes this country what it is is the (Constitutionally guaranteed) right to speak our mind. Being different doesn't mean that one is a threat to our nation's security. It simply means that you're an American. Instead of ridiculing the ACLU for some of their efforts (and even I have sometimes wondered about them), Americans of all stripes should be saluting (and supporting) their efforts to support freedom of speech and expression.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 17, 2002 8:18 PM.

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