Thoughts on ACLU awards

My wife and I were in the audience tonight when the ACLU presented its Jeanette Rankin awards to the Rev. Vern Klingman (who, incidentally, married us almost 40 years ago) and KEMC's Marvin Granger. Klingman is the retired minister from First Methodist Church who is a frequent writer against and critic of the religious wrong's effort to claim this is a Christian country and should be theocratically controlled. Granger is the manager of KEMC who has put together a string of National Public Radio stations and transmitters across the state from the headquarters at Montana State University-Billings. I have had my differences at times with both men, but overall believe they are among the quality people in the city of Billings.

Vern received his award for his outspoken defenses of the First Amendment and the separation of church and state that is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution (no matter what some people say). Granger received the award for promoting the excellence of public radio in fostering intellectual discussion in its audience. The Jeanette Rankin award is given in memory of the activist from Montana who voted against both world wars in Congress and was a member of the first ACLU board when it became active after the repressions of liberties during WWI.

People who oppose the ACLU are, with some few exceptions, those whose particular ox has been gored or who feel that people should be punished for speaking their minds or not buying into the fallacies of the majority.