The ACLU

[redcannon]

I ran a search for ACLU in revleft prior to posting this, and nothing turned up. I'm interested in your views on the American Civil Liberties Union. Is it an important part of far-leftism in the states or is it just a group of hyper-liberal bush-bashers who do absolutely nothing?

[BobKKKindle$]

In some respects they are progressive - not only do they defend the ability of women to choose abortion, they have also tried to prevent the sole use of abstinence-only sex education programs in schools. The ACLU also challenged the 1981 Arkansas creationism statute (which ensured that all state educational institutions had to include creationism as an alternative to evolution as part of the syllabus) which was eventually ruled un-constitutional by the Supreme Court. They also have links with other organisations in order to protect the rights of immigrants.

Most importantly, the ACLU has uncovered many important instances of abuse and torture in Iraq and thus has supported the objectives and activities of the international anti-war movement. In reference to documents uncovered by the ACLU in February 2006, Socialist Worker noted.


The documents have been obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They reveal a cover up of the activities of Task Force 626, comprising CIA agents and special forces involved in torture.

So they certainly cannot be described as doing 'nothing' - the ACLU is clearly an influential activist group.

However, I don't think the organisation really has revolutionary potential because they base their campaigns on the rights that are prescribed in the constitution, and as such I don't think the organisation would support revolutionary challenges to what they percieve to be legitimate and democratic institutions. Any revolutionary should recognize that the American Constitution does not have any philisophical or metaphysical value.