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(CNSNews.com) - The First Amendment right to freedom of speech should be interpreted as preventing the U.S. government from denying a visa to a foreign critic of U.S. war-time policy who has been invited to speak here, even when national security concerns are cited, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is claiming in a federal lawsuit.The above excerpt (emphasis added) demonstrates the depths of the barrel whose bottom the ACLU is currently scraping. My recommendation to the ACLU (one of several) would be to trawl for greener barrels (mixed metaphors intended). For instance, consider the Second Amendment right to bear arms. I submit the Founding Fathers did not intend to restrict that right to arms only. There are numerous other rights to be borne, none of which would even begin to push the envelope of the ACLU's tolerance for absurdity:
- right to bear children — show me where the Constitution grants this right to women, exclusively;
- right to bear fruit — not only the obvious choices (apples, oranges, and prunes) but also cake;
- right to bear a cross — the bible allows non-deities to do so, why not the Constitution;
- right to bear a burden — generalization of right to bear a cross (which see, above);
- right to bear a likeness — to others;
- right to bear false witness — this one is tricky, since it conflicts with long-standing traditions that criminalize perjury, but I know the ACLU is up to the challenge;
- right to bear the name of "John" — why not?
- right to bear seeing you beg for mercy — OK, I'll stop now; you get the point.
Why shouldn't Americans extend first amendment rights to non-citizens? Should such rights (which can be thought of as universal human rights) be granted only as an accident of birth? Shouldn't we strive for something better?
ReplyDeleteDear 5:16:00 PM EST,
ReplyDeleteAll American rights, as well as all American laws, derive from the Constitution of the United States of America, a Republic. Our Republic is a nation of laws, all of which must comply with our Constitution, and by definition apply to everyone who is within our Republic's jurisdiction.
The United States is not a classical democracy, whereby its citizens gather together and discuss the merits of extending American rights to non-citizens, no matter how compelling the argument based on universal human rights might be.
Nor is America a charitable organization, though we do have a long standing tradition of being charitable to our friends and allies abroad.
America is a Republic, a form of representative democracy, whereby citizens qualified to vote, elect officials to represent their interests in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial (via appointment and confirmation) Branches of Government. This is how laws and rights are established in America, for Americans, as well as for anyone else within America's jurisdiction.