An opinion piece (Partially taken from Leaders of the American Revolution, by Bud Hannings, McFarland & Company Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina and London. 2009 And Pportrait of the Stars and Stripes, By Bud Hannings, Seniram Publishing, Glenside, Pennsylvania. ):
Sometime names can fool you and at times, some names are meant to fool you. One such example is the American Civil Liberties Union or as it is commonly known, the ACLU. It sounds almost like American apple pie and ice cream. Nevertheless, if you study some of the cases they take up, you will notice the organization is thought by many to be the Anti-American Civil Liberties Union. It might be of some interest to you to know something about the organization’s founder, Roger Baldwin and of his intent.
Not surprisingly, the ACLU always seems eager to separate church and state, including taking prayer out of the schools and they have a propensity to take cases which portend to be noble, while the organization cleverly works to dismantle Christianity. If you see a case where the Holy family display with the Baby Jesus is being attacked in court to prevent the display, you will probably find the ACLU.
One place where it would be a rare occasion to find the ACLU would be in defense of the U.S. military, unless it were to defend a traitor or someone opposed to the military. It might be equally difficult to find the ACLU defending an American police force. Nevertheless, if a case in court includes the police, the ACLU most probably would be there, only against the police.
During this modern period, even the Bible has come under attack along with Christianity. The United States sends its warriors to defend many nations, some of which are Muslim and the U. S. Congress acquiesces to demands that American Christians must not bring their Bibles into the country (example, Saudi Arabia) on the grounds that we must respect the rights of the Muslims. Of course, Congress seems to have no trouble repressing the rights of our troops to practice their religion.
In some countries, Catholic priests and Protestant ministers serving with the military essentially hold clandestine services to avoid displeasing the Muslims. It was and continues to be an outrage that even one American warrior has to die for people who despise Christianity. If a country forbids an American force from openly practicing its faith, or even wearing a symbol of their faith such as a cross, a crucifix or a miraculous medal, maybe that county should be officially that if Christianity is not respected and the Bible cannot be read, our warriors will no longer be deployed to protect that nation.
Despite what some claim, the United States of America was founded by Christians, predominantly Protestant and it is a rare occasion to find any of our genuine founders who did not believe in God, based on their Christian faith. The frequent clamoring about our Founders, for the most part were not Christian is a myth. They had many frailties as do all men, including the Apostles, but nearly all openly claimed to be Christian. Even among the military leaders, most were openly Christian and many openly prayed before going into battle as well as after the battle.
Even the Congress was not bashful about proclaiming the Christianity. In Philadelphia on 11 September, 1776, during a Thursday session, Congress was informed at about 0845 that the British advance was continuing and encroaching Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania en route to Philadelphia. During that same session, although Congress was getting close to abandoning the city, the session continued. After receiving a report from a committee regarding the printing of Bibles for the troops, it was determined that proper printing presses were unavailable in the United States. Congress, however, after some discussion and debate, showed no signs of cowering from their faith. The Committee of Commerce was directed to “import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the states in the Union.” Apparently, the Continental Congress ordered Bibles without apologies to anyone. Maybe they were not as enlightened as present-day politicians.
Thomas Jefferson, just before he was elected as president (1800) in a letter to Doctor Benjamin Rush stated: “I have sworn upon the altar of God, Eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. That statement alone should dispels rumors that Jefferson was a deist; rather than a Christian.
Another, Benjamin Franklin, known as a philanderer; rather than a Christian, had been raised as a Presbyterian, had some difficulties with some ministers, but he was a Christian and in his biography, Franklin noted: “And conceiving God to be the fountain of wisdom, I thought it right and necessary to solicit his assistance for obtaining it; to this end I formed the following little prayer, which was prefixed to my tables of examination, for daily use: ‘O powerful Goodness! bountiful Father! merciful Guide! Increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. Strengthen my resolutions to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to thy other children as the only return in my power for thy continual favours to me.” Franklin also stated in his biography “that there is one God, who made all things. That he governs the world by his providence. That he ought to be worshiped by adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving. But that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man. That the soul is immortal. And that God will certainly reward virtue and punish vice, either here or hereafter.”
Yet another, General George Washington, who retained a friendly relationship with Catholics is known to have kept a picture of the Blessed Virgin. After his death, the picture was listed in the articles detailed at Mount Vernon. Washington was noted as a Christian who was not afraid to pray even in public; however, having a personal picture (or of course painting) of the Blessed Virgin should remove any doubs asto his profession of being a Christian.
Back to the ACLU–During January 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union was formed in the United States. Its founder, Roger Baldwin, a Harvard Graduate, had been director of the Bureau of the American Union against Militarism and received a jail sentence for refusing to serve in the military. Baldwin remained the ACLU’s director until 1950, and then served as an advisor until his death at 97, during 1981. During 1934, Baldwin stated his position regarding civil liberties: “I TOO TAKE A CLASS POSITION. IT IS ANTI-CAPITALIST AND PRO REVOLUTIONARY… I CHAMPION CIVIL LIBERTIES AS THE BEST NONVIOLENT MEANS OF BUILDING THE POWER ON WHICH WORKER’S RULE MUST BE BASED … WHEN THAT POWER OF THE WORKING CLASS IS ONCE ACHIEVED, AS IT HAS BEEN ONLY IN THE SOVIET UNION, I AM FOR MAINTAINING IT BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER … THE SOVIET UNION HAS ALREADY CREATED LIBERTIES FAR GREATER THAN EXIST ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD. Baldwin, during 1935, although stating that he had never belonged to the Communist Party said that “COMMUNISM IS THE GOAL:”
Knowledge is the key to maintaining Liberty. The U. S. Military cannot do it alone; however, as long as Americans are able to distinguish their enemies from their friends, the Stars and Stripes will prevail against tyranny. Nonetheless, anyone or any nation that stands against Christianity must be carefully observed. Knowing history can prevent disaster in the future. My suggestion is to keep the Bible and the cross in the forefront, for in times of turbulence, they can calm the stormy seas.
