The ACLU is Satan
Sravisht Iyer
2/18/02
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I was browsing through a few news sites one night, when I came across this story. I could not help but laugh. This represents the epitome of paranoia. The role of the American Civil Liberties Union has changed from a protector of our freedoms to a delusional organization that exists solely to make mountains out of molehills.
On a Halloween's night, the mayor of Inglis passed a proclamation through the city council barring Satan from entering or being part of the town. Seems innocent enough, but apparently not for the ACLU. In their effort to sue every organization on the planet the ACLU took a giant leap forward today, finally finding something to pin on the town of Inglis. Your town may be next. Has your mayor uttered the word Jesus Christ recently, been to a church, worshipped a god? If so, you have just won a lawsuit courtesy of the ACLU.
This nation's pride in its way of life is justifiable. It is, after all, the most successful democracy ever and has lived up to the rigorous standards set by the constitution for over 200 years. The freedoms granted to the populace were then unprecedented and the legislation passed since then has served only to bolster those freedoms. While I suppose the incident in Inglis could be perceived as an infringement of separation of church and state, the action being taken by the ACLU is ridiculous. The whole incident reads like an article from the Onion. Says ACLU lawyer Gary Edinger, "Courts are always the last recourse, we always try to work these things out." It may seem, at first glance, he is discussing a grave violation of civil liberties like the resurrection of segregation at a certain school. What is comical is that he is discussing this seemingly trivial situation.
I am not a Christian. If my mayor were to publish such a proclamation, I would not be offended to the slightest degree. It is innocent enough. It is the warding-off of an evil spirit. If the proclamation were a welcoming of Christ or one proclaiming that there is only one Supreme Being. It is an innocent piece of legislation passed to celebrate the spirit of a holiday. The ACLU, however, seems to have lost its judgment as to which cases are worth pursuing.
"Be it known from this day forward that Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis," it read. "Satan is herby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens." The ACLU's analysis of this issue seems to mirror that of a four year old attempting to dissect an expression. When his mother tells him "Look before you leap" after he has made a head-first blunder, his reply immediately is, "I never leaped." The ACLU has failed to see the meaning behind these statements. These knee-jerk reactions to problems only cast a negative image on the ACLU and the ability of the American populace to handle themselves.
The next time the president sits down around his dinner table to celebrate a Christmas, he better be wearing and doing activities that represent all religious groups in the United States. When the founding fathers endowed us with these sweeping freedoms, they hoped we possessed one trait that the ACLU has clearly lost: common sense.