The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is running a TV ad asking Americans to join its organization — asking you to join up for the magic number of $19 a month. You call it a magic number since nearly every 5013c organization (Wounded Warriors, St.Jude, ASPCA) seems to choose $19, as if that amount has some type of hypnotic power over your consent. The ACLU suggests that it is in business to protect the civil liberties of all people, but the presentation doesn’t show all the varieties of the American public. It primarily displays women and minority audiences who apparently are the specific people being denied their civil liberties — what ACLU designates as “human rights.” Up front and center, the ad features women, relatively young, promoting reproductive rights. Equally visible, LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter adherents stand united against the forces which apparently deny their rights. In the ad, the ACLU cites America’s Constitution as the basis for its work; so you can take no issue with the ad — well — except perhaps to ask for a clarification. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that the people are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. In addition, The Constitution has ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. In those founding documents, you don’t see any mention of any people who in 2025 should be denied those rights. Therefore, you have to admit that ACLU advertising, however well meaning, is a bit confusing. What might motivate you to send $19 to the ACLU is a list of which “rights” are being denied and who or what is doing the denying. You would call upon the ACLU to please enumerate where in the Declaration or the Constitution you can find a delineation of rights being ignored today. Perhaps it might help to examine your basic rights, one at a time.

Life
Undeniably, some bad people deny the right to life by killing all manner of human beings. Among the victims, you must assume some are women, some are black, some are LBGTQ+ constituents and some belong to other minority groups. But statistics don’t seem to show that these particular people are singled out to be liquidated.

Liberty
You know of no law that prohibits people from enjoying the benefits of freedom. Under the law, individual Americans seem free to make choices to conduct their own lives. Regardless of gender, skin color, political persuasion or sexual preference, no one has authority over you as an individual. Unless you break the law. And even then, as a lawbreaker, you have rights designated to you under the Bill of Rights

Pursuit of Happiness
Quite simply, you don’t know who or what stands in the way of your chasing prosperity or achieving happiness. Speaking personally, however, it is true you have stood in your own way.

ACLU advertising does raise a lot of questions, Matilda. To be fair, they should be addressed, dealt with. But you need help. With all due respect, the ACLU needs to fill in the blanks. 1. Publish a list of the “rights” denied.  2. Publish a list of who or what is doing the denying. 3. Then publish a list of injustices; and, finally, publish a list of what victims want for enduring these injustices. For instance, do Black Lives Matter disciples want Respect? Acceptance?  Do they and other special interest groups want a lifetime allowance? Do they want Jobs? Free Housing? Free Healthcare? Free Abortions? Free Food? Free Education? You hate to bring up politics, but is it possible that “rights victims” are lobbying for a Socialist or Communist government to provide the rights they deserve? You believe America can make progress with these issues if the ACLU would place its demands on the table. Meantime, in full disclosure, you recall often denying your four children their rights. But you don’t know the people in the TV ad and they don’t know you. So far, you’re relatively confident you are not among those denying them their civil liberties. If you’re mistaken or missing something, the ACLU definitely should lay out the grievances and expose you as an offender.

www.conventionofstates.com