Powderman said it quite well ! I do not want a theocracy, no matter who is the leading theocrat..but I do want respect to those religious institutions that have earned it ..and a certain caution toward those that in every instance, when given the oppoprtunity, tried to institute a theocracy.
Any group that has shown a propensity for "takeover", such as the Muslims and certain denominations of the Christian faith that have been known to insinuate themselves as as "state religion" should merit a certain wariness by citizens.
That being said, the ACLU has lost any type of respect as a constitutional watchdog, and here are sone of the reasons:
1) (IMO) The ACLU is involved in "selective Constitionalism" in the cases they pursue..
2) When was the last time they sided with Christians against a repressive local govt. or school board ?
( the Constitution guarantees a freedom "of" religion..not "from" religion)
3) The second amendment is very clear..I have never heard of the ACLU rabidly defending it !
4) Hate crimes..jail people, not for any crime they committed, but for what they MAY have been thinking..
absolutely absurd, but neither the ACLU or any high politician will touch the absurdity..
5) Hate crime laws are imposed arbitrarily,apparently guided by whether the "perpetrator" is a "minority' or not.
..never heard the ACLU even mention anything about it !
6) The ACLU took "flag burning" to court and had it declared "free speech"..yet has helped to jail "cross burners".
If flag burning is "free speech", why not cross burning ?
I am not in favor of either one, but if the ACLU were intellectually honest, they could not differentiate..
7) According to the ACLU, producing a painting, graving a sculpture or renting a billboard to blaspheme Christian beliefs is "free speech",
But a Pastor saying from the pulpit that so & so candidate backs immoral causes and should not be voted for..does not come under free speech.
If Falwell's church invited politicians onto their premisis to make political speeches and collect money for campaigns
the ACLU would be all over them..
...Yet Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton do that often..and the ACLU is mute !
9) According to ACLU, Christians telling active homosexuals that they are leading a dangerous life (proven), that they would do well to repent and find a better way..is "hate & bigotry"
..But we don't find the ACLU anywhere nearby when a gang of rowdy homosexuals raid a church and disturb decent worshipers.
10) Has the ACLU taken up the cause of military recruiters or ROTC students who want such on a campus and are denied, while the offending schools are accepting Federal Govt, funds ?
11) Some far-out California public schools have required all students of a certain grade (5th, I believe) to study the Koran and wear clothing and learn verses from the Koran.
The ACLU is defending the school's choice ...and condemns Christian prayer or Bibles in schools..
These being just a few of myriad examples where the ACLU only defends "selected" parts of the Constitution, I think
it is a good time to make a point by analogy.
The ACLU and it's supporters CLAIM that the ACLU is the "watchdog" of the Constitution..
A) If you hired a babysitter to care for 4 children and that babysitter took good care of 2 of them but left the other 2 to
play in traffic and get killed...
Would that person be considered a "good babysitter" ?
B) Back to the "watchdog" analogy..
Suppose you had a junkyard and a junkyard dog ! If that junkyard dog guarded the fenders and transmissions zealously,
but let the crooks take all the engines and axles they wanted..would that be a worthwhile "junkyard dog "?
Keeping that in mind, Constitution wise....
Is the ACLU even a worthwhile "junkyard dog "??