Let me tell you about January 19, 1920, the day the American Civil Liberties Union was born. Now, if you’re not familiar with the ACLU, it’s the group that’s spent over a century shouting, “Hey! Maybe read the Constitution before you wipe your feet on it!” And it all started because the government was busy stuffing the Bill of Rights into the shredder during the Red Scare.
You see, back then, the United States was in a panic over “radicals” and “anarchists.” What does that mean? Well, basically, if you didn’t cheer loud enough for the war or salute the flag with sufficient gusto, you were either shipped off to jail or deported. Seriously, the government was acting like your cranky uncle who thinks everything is a communist plot. Dissent? Jail. Question authority? Jail. Look at the flag funny? You’re getting shipped to Siberia.
So this scrappy group of people got together and said, “Hey, maybe this whole ‘free speech’ thing isn’t just a suggestion!” And boom—the ACLU was born. They started defending folks who didn’t fit the mold, people who had unpopular opinions, or who just wanted to teach kids about Darwin’s little pet theory called evolution. That was the Scopes Trial in 1925—Tennessee versus a biology teacher who dared to say, “Hey, maybe monkeys are our cousins.” And guess what? The ACLU was right there saying, “Let the man talk about monkeys!”
But here’s the thing: the ACLU has always been the friend who shows up at the worst possible time to say the most uncomfortable truth. Take 1978. They defended a Nazi group’s right to march in Skokie, Illinois—a place packed with Holocaust survivors. Now, nobody wanted to touch that one, not even with a ten-foot pole and a hazmat suit. But the ACLU said, “If free speech isn’t free for everyone, then it’s not free at all.” And people went, “Yeah, but Nazis? Really?” And the ACLU said, “Yes, really. Even the worst ideas need to be defeated in the open, not buried in the dark.” Bold move. Unpopular move. But that’s the point—they defend principles, not popularity contests.
Fast forward to now, and guess what? The same fights are happening all over again! Voting rights are under attack. Protests are being criminalized. People are banning books like it’s 1692, and if you’re trans or queer, good luck just existing without someone screaming, “Not in my America!” It’s like history is stuck on a loop, playing the greatest hits of bad ideas.
The ACLU’s still in the thick of it, reminding us that democracy is messy. You’ve got to fight for it. They’ve taken on everything from surveillance to the right to assemble, even when assembly looks more like chaos. They’re standing up for people who don’t have the power to stand up for themselves—and yes, sometimes they defend people you don’t like. And you know why? Because that’s what freedom is. It’s not a buffet where you only take the rights you like. It’s the whole meal, even the stuff that makes you gag.
So here we are, over 100 years later, and the ACLU is still saying the same thing: “Read the Constitution, folks.” The government is still pulling stunts, still overreaching, and we still need watchdogs willing to bark—loudly—when things go sideways. Because let’s be honest, if they weren’t here, who would remind us that rights don’t defend themselves? Certainly not the people in charge—they’re too busy trying to figure out how to put barbed wire around the First Amendment.
So let’s raise a toast—or a strongly worded letter—to the ACLU. They’re not perfect, but they’ve got guts. They’ve spent a century reminding us that freedom isn’t supposed to be comfortable—it’s supposed to be just, even when it’s hard. And that’s something worth celebrating, even if it gives you heartburn.
