The beginnings of a new definition of morality

The American Civil Liberties Union recently sent out mailings containing what they called their "National Citizens' Survey on Civic Morality". In these mailings, the ACLU justified the need for this survey by contending that members of the Religious Right had gained so much power in the government that there is now a danger men like Jesse Helms, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell will shortly be instrumental in returning America to the political and moral atmosphere of the 1950's. In the several pages attached to the survey, the ACLU charges that the Religious Right wants to reinstate the days when blacks had no civil rights, when women were considered second class citizens, and when gays and lesbians had to huddle in fear of their lives lest their "shameful secret" become known.

The ACLU has always in the past maintained that it is "the first line of the defense of the Constitution," ensuring that the government does not overstep its bounds when it comes to individual rights. It has defended this, it maintains, even when it was not popular to do so. Always, however, it has, in the past, maintained itself as a political machine concerned with the letter and the spirit of political law.

With this survey, the ACLU begins a new chapter in its existence: the moral overseer of the American people.

Perhaps, until now, the ACLU has indirectly been influential in determining the morality of this or that decision by state and federal courts. Perhaps, until now, the ACLU has fought for the "right" behind the intent rather than the printed words of a regulation or law. Never, until now, has the ACLU even come close to this blatant statement of its intent: to define morality.

The ACLU has set the deadline for tabulation of this survey as April 4, 2000. After that, it must be assumed, there will be a new policy on morality in the ACLU, one gleaned from information recovered concerning the critical ideas of human morality. How is this policy, which will be implemented nationwide and will impact the courts and laws of this country directly and indirectly for as long as the ACLU sees itself as the champion of the underdog, to be researched? How is this policy, which will have far-reaching effects on the lives not only of the people the ACLU defends, but on those who seek justice in today's legal system without the ACLU's stamp of approval, to be defined? Will it be through hundreds of thousands of interviews over years of research, with major universities and houses of learning weighing the pros and cons of the information gleaned? Will it be through the efforts of thousands of men and women dedicated to discovering the truth of human morality?

Incredibly, this immensely critical information is to be summarized from the answers to six questions. Six questions, which the ACLU has determined is sufficient to define human morality today. To quote from the mailing:

"By sending us your answers to the six simple questions in the National Citizens' Survey on Civic Morality, you can help us reframe the national debate that is now underway --- a debate that is already affecting decisions being made in Congress and by the courts. These decisions will determine how you will be allowed to live your life. By completing this survey, you can add your voice to those of more than a quarter million other men and women demanding to be heard as these fateful decisions are made."

The six questions touch on issues facing us today as the most explosive politically and morally: civil rights, abortion, religious freedom, individual privacy, sexual preferences, and free speech. Each of the questions begin with the words "I believe" and provide three blocks for response: Yes, No, and Not sure. In this way, the ACLU is reducing human morality to a questionnaire, and one that provides no means of discussion or mitigation. This from an organization whose stated purpose has always been to prevent unfair presentation of individual opinion.

After April 4, 2000, we must assume the ACLU will no longer be merely a political association. With its newfound grassroots understanding of morality, the ACLU will become another religious authority with a moral agenda.

Can the Cathedral of Our Lady of the ACLU be far behind?

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