Address ACLU’s Attacks on Liberty

To the Editor: 
A letter in the Herald outlined one of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) New Jersey missions: Eliminate solitary confinement for mentally-ill patients. I don’t know enough about this issue to comment, and have compassion for the author, who was passionate due to personal experience. But in another area, the ACLU of New Jersey is attacking our First Amendment rights, and we should express to them our concern.
In Haddon Heights, N.J. ACLU threatened legal action against the Glenview Elementary School District for allowing “God Bless America” to be sung after the daily pledge of allegiance, which they’ve done since Sept. 11, 2001. The Constitution is on the school’s side, but with so many recent defeats in the war on religion, they backed down. It’s easier to concede their freedom than spend the time and money required to battle the Goliath when they say, “sit down and shut up.”
“Separation of church and state” is nowhere in the Constitution’s text. The First Amendment actually states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The restriction is on Congress, not American citizens. It forbids Congress from establishing a religion with a law and prohibits its free exercise with a law. Since “Congress shall make no law,” there is no law that the district could break. So why does the ACLU say it’s illegal to allow the students who wish to sing, “God Bless America?”
Let’s ask the ACLU why they’re better equipped than the U.S. Constitution to determine what speech or religious expression is acceptable? Since we know state Senators Raymond Lesniak and Peter Barnes are in contact with them, please remind them that it’s their oath to defend the state Constitution, which protects freedom of religion. Ask them, and your state legislator, what they’ll do to fight the ACLU’s attack on liberty. You can reach the ACLU of NJ at http://aclu-nj.org.