[Peace-discuss] ACLU liberals

[C. G. Estabrook]

On the contrary: the ACLU was founded as a peace organization but was tamed to 
the uses of Cold War Liberalism - the mindless orthodoxy that establishes the 
limits of allowable debate in our contemporary politics.

Roger Nash Baldwin became head of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) in 
1917. An independent outgrowth of the American Union Against Militarism, the 
Bureau opposed American intervention in World War I. The NCLB provided legal 
advice and aid for conscientious objectors and those being prosecuted under the 
Espionage Act of 1917 or the Sedition Act of 1918 - (Democratic) President 
Woodrow Wilson's largely successful attempts to suppress opposition to US war 
policy.  In 1920, the NCLB changed its name to the American Civil Liberties 
Union, with Baldwin continuing as its director. The admirable Jeannette Rankin 
(the only person to vote against the US entry to WWI and WWII), Jane Addams, and 
the socialist Helen Keller were founding members of the ACLU.

The ACLU was formed to protect aliens threatened with deportation, along with 
U.S. nationals threatened with criminal charges by Wilson's Attorney General 
Palmer - the eponym of the Palmer Raids - for their socialist activities and 
agendas. It also opposed government attacks on the Industrial Workers of the 
World (IWW) and other labor unions.

In 1940, under pressure from the Roosevelt administration, Baldwin barred 
communists from leadership or staff positions. The purge began with the ouster 
of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of both the CPUSA and the IWW. The ACLU's 
chairman since its founding, Harry F. Ward, resigned to protest Baldwin's action.

In spite of its hobbling by liberal politics, the ACLU continues to support some 
admirable positions, including opposition to the death penalty, opposition to 
campaign finance laws like McCain-Feingold (which restrict freedom of speech), 
and opposition to  "anti-spam legislation."

On that last point - of interest perhaps to some on this list - the current ACLU 
has argued that proposed anti-spam legislation infringed on free speech. They 
assert the radical view that "It's relatively simple to click and delete."  As 
early as 1997 the ACLU had taken a strong position that nearly all spam 
legislation was improper.

The ACLU has also, properly it seems to me, supported the Citizens United 
decision, altho' they are perhaps wavering a bit.  --CGE


On 11/20/10 11:31 AM, Karen Medina wrote:
> > The ACLU doesn't take a stand on political issues unless rights are 
> violated, and it isn't a peace organization,
>
> I just want to point out the contradiction of this. War is a violation of 
> certain civil liberties, namely the right to life and freedom from torture.
>
> I am a member of ACLU. Do I wish it were anti-war? Heck yes.
>
> I find it interesting when groups say they are protecting civil liberties or 
> providing humanitarian aid but call war a political issue. I see why they do 
> -- the Red Cross or the Red Crescent would be unable to enter places where 
> they do their most valuable work.
>
> I just have troubles seeing how war is a political issue alone.
>
> -karen medina
>
>
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