"I just wanted to take a moment to ask the folks who work for the American Civil Liberties Union if they are glad they live in America."
That was the opening sentence to "God Bless Us Every One, Like It or Not," the Opinion-Editorial that April Simpson of Glencoe, N.M., wrote to The Santa Fe New Mexican, accusing the ACLU of wanting to "take God away from everything"; to take away her right to believe as she pleases.
She can rest assured that we have no desire to take away her religious freedom. ... And the answer to her question is, yes! We are very glad to live in America, just as she is.
One of the reasons we're so proud to be American is because we live in a country that enshrined in its Constitution the right for every person to practice any religion, or no religion at all, without interference from the government.
Ms. Simpson, like many people, makes the classic error of assuming that, because the ACLU doesn't think the government should tell citizens which god to worship, and when and how to worship, that the ACLU opposes religion in general. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we fight tirelessly for the constitutional right of all Americans to worship, preach and practice their religion — both publicly and privately — however they best see fit.
Just in the past few years, the ACLU of New Mexico has defended a Christian preacher who was arrested in Portales for preaching in public, forced jails in Albuquerque to accommodate the religious diets of Jewish inmates, and represented Muslim athletes who were driven off the New Mexico State University's football team by the coach's refusal to accommodate their religious beliefs. The national ACLU and its state affiliates across the country weigh in on dozens of cases every year to protect the right of Americans to practice the faith of their choosing without being told by the government which religious beliefs are most legitimate or important.
So you see, although our individual religious beliefs may differ, our values are the same as Ms. Simpson's. She wants the freedom to practice her religion. We want the same thing for her and every other American too, whether they be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists or any of the many other groups that make up the American tapestry of religion and belief.
And if Ms. Simpson or anyone else ever feels that the government is violating their religious freedom, they should drop us a line. We might be able to help.
Ms. Simpson ends her letter kindly by saying, "My family and I would like to wish each of them (ACLU employees) a very Merry Christmas ... God bless each of them and their families this Christmas season."
We thank her, and we wholeheartedly wish the same for her and her family.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever anyone chooses to celebrate this holiday season!
- Micah McCoy, on behalf of the ACLU-NM staff
This Op-Ed was originally published in the Santa Fe New Mexican on December 6, 2010.
Happy Holidays from the ACLU of New Mexico
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