The American Civil Liberties Union strayed from its own long-standing policy when it came out against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. I think that was a very bad thing.
The ACLU, like the Senate, is an institution. It has policies to keep its efforts on track. Without them, it might drift from topic to topic and goal to goal, according to the moods of its members and/or the fashions of the social moment. As someone with both master's and doctoral degrees in the study of organizations, I think this is dangerous.
I believe that neither people nor organizations should stoop to the level of their opponents. And just think of how you would feel if you were a conservative person whose civil rights were in jeopardy, for whatever reason. Would you now feel comfortable trusting the ACLU to fight for justice? Does that organization still seem to be on your side no matter who you are? Is it a civil rights organization or a political organization?
Jim Lyttle
Duluth
