The Significance of the ACLU

After the 2016 election, there were many uncertainties with what was going to happen to the state of civil rights and civil liberties in America. The then-President-Elect made several incendiary comments targeted at minority groups during the presidential campaign and, justifiably, there was a lot of fear and anxiety about what was going to happen to the rights they had gained during the Obama administration. Rights such as the expansion of marriage equality and increased oversight of police departments. But luckily there was something in the way of the destruction and dismantling of civil rights: the American Civil Liberties Union.

Every time the Trump Administration tried to block the right of refugees to seek asylum in the US, the ACLU was there to help protect their human rights. Every time the Trump Administration tried to impose new, harsher, voting restrictions targeted at African Americans and the poor, the ACLU was there to stop them. Every time cities and states tried to take away the right to protest, the ACLU was there to reaffirm the first amendment.

Now why am I talking about this? I mention all of this about the ACLU because ever since the election last November, I as someone with a future in public service feel called to them. I want to spend my career in government, of course, but in the short term, from when I graduate law school up until I decide to go into government, the ACLU is where I need to be. I need to help reaffirm the rights that I hold dear as an American citizen. I want to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, or gender are guaranteed the rights given to them by the constitution. And of course these attacks will only get worse and by the time I get there, there will be much to be done. But it will be good work at work worth doing.