WASHINGTON -- Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union, has written to ask me to become a "card-carrying member" of the ACLU. She explains: "There is no higher calling, nor greater reward, democracy can offer an individual than the opportunity to stand up for fundamental freedoms in trying times."
True. But how does the ACLU define fundamental freedoms? The ACLU regularly courts unpopularity, which is one of its strengths. For instance, it is supporting the grotesque North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) against a wrongful death lawsuit charging that group with responsibility in a boy's rape and murder.
Unfortunately, the ACLU has relieved NAMBLA's leaders of the embarrassment of defending themselves and the organization of the expense of defending itself. But the ACLU rightly worries about the precedent, which could be turned against other groups, such as the National Rifle Association, of blaming monstrous behavior on reading offensive material.