ACLU by Bill Eagle

Submitted in MS Word

Bill Eagle is a PCP from Columbia County, his Letter to the Editor of St Helens Chronicle re: Stealing Christmas follows:


The Gaffer huffed and puffed, he stood so close that our noses were almost touching: “That ACLU is ruining our country. They’re a bunch of pinkos Commies and they’re working right now to try and ban Christmas.”

“Aw come on,” said I. “There’s no way that the ACLU is trying to ban Christmas.”

“Oh yeah!” responded the Gaffer: “I heard about it on the O’Reilly factor and I read about it in my BushCountry newsletter. I read that kids can’t sing Christmas songs, and those ACLU guys are planning to make the entire holiday disappear. Christmas is under attack, and it’s those Commie ACLU guys that’s try’n to make it happen. ”

I backed away from the Gaffer and said: “The ACLU isn’t made up of Commies. Their mission is to preserve our Constitution and to keep our Bill of Rights.”

The Gaffer sneered at me. “You bleeding heart liberals would just as soon let them a-rabs and commies take us over, than stand up for Christian Values. We’re a Christian Nation but those ACLU guys are gonna change that. You just wait and see. They are working right now to outlaw Christmas.

The Gaffer walked away from me fully sure in the knowledge that the ACLU was working to destroy Christianity in America.

I wrote Will Potter and Paul Silva, national spokespersons for the ACLU. Both people mentioned that this was total nonsense. The ACLU has nothing in common with the Grinch. Will Potter told me: “The ACLU defends civil liberties of people of all faiths. We have worked on behalf of Christian students to allow them to distribute Bibles on public school grounds. We even helped the Reverend Jerry Falwell with a legal problem regarding his church.

Paul Silva provided me with more information. He Wrote: “...The ACLU is not trying to ban Christmas. There are a couple of groups who are engaged in a PR campaign to gain publicity (and raise funds) by trying to paint an image that Christmas is under attack. The ACLU supports the same sensible guidelines for schools that evangelical groups endorsed a decade ago in regards to Christmas and holiday displays… It’s hard to see why media outlets are making a fuss over this now when the laws simply have not changed…”

He also mentioned that some of the media outlets are biting on this PR bait without bothering to do any research. Paul Silva was kind enough to send me a number of cases where the ACLU supported the rights of students to speak out regarding their religion, to distribute Christian literature, to have religious yearbook entries, to sing Christmas carols, to have school religious organizations, and to publicly proclaim their faith.

Wrote Silva: “The ACLU does not take on cases based on religious beliefs or demographics of clients. Instead, we look at the constitutional merits of an issue.”

The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from it. It allows people to worship as they wish, or not worship at all. They just can’t use the government to impose their beliefs on others.

In schools, teachers may not be allowed to lead prayers, but school facilities can be made available to clubs or outside groups for that purpose. The only stipulation being that they must allow equal access for all.

Children can sing Christmas songs in schools, as long as the program includes secular seasonal songs as well, and is inclusive of other faiths.

Nativity scenes on public grounds are legal, as long as space is allowed for other religions or secular displays. Religious beliefs can’t be banned, as long as programs and displays are inclusive and respect the rights of all.

I called The Gaffer and told him what I found out. His comment to me was: “Sonny I listen to Fox and talk radio. I know all about the ACLU. They want to ban Christmas. One of them talk show guys thought we should send the ACLU Christmas cards. Kind of subtle, but maybe that way those pinkos will get the message…”

Actually, the Gaffer’s idea isn’t all that bad. It might be nice to send the ACLU a card thanking them. We can thank them for volunteering to help protect our First Amendment rights, and guarding our rights to worship as we chose.

I think I might even say a little prayer on their behalf, after all prayer is a First Amendment right.