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The ACLU's War On Diversity Originally appeared in the New York Post on Thursday, December 24, 1998 by Bret Schundler The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Jersey City because we don't just tolerate cultural and religious diversity -- we celebrate it! It troubles the ACLU that we do not censor out religious symbols from City Hall cultural displays, rather we specifically invite our citizens, many of whom are recent immigrants from totalitarian countries, to celebrate their diverse religious faiths at City Hall. We do this because City Hall is the most public place in the City and the very seat of government power, and we want our citizens to know that in this country the government will not persecute them for their religious faith, but instead is committed to defending every individual's private freedom of conscience, as well as one's right to be public about one's faith. Our City-sponsored celebrations take place within the context of a broader initiative we call the "Slice of Heaven Festival," a year-long series of ethnic celebrations wherein we celebrate the fact that in Jersey City (as in practically every religion's conception of a heavenly community), all the world's people get along. Encouraging the celebration of religious freedom is only one goal of our Slice of Heaven program. Its broader purpose is to develop our community's sense of unity amidst diversity, by encouraging our citizens to appreciate that what makes us one people as Americans -- what forms the foundation of nationhood -- is not race, religion, national origin, or home-spoken language -- but is, rather, citizenship in a country that is committed to our Declaration of Independence's principles of equality, inalienable rights, and constitutional democracy. Every human life is of equal and inestimable value: no human being should be treated as a mere means to another's ends. Indeed, every human being is endowed by God with inalienable rights which no government -- democratic as well as dictatorial -- can justly take away. While inviolably limiting itself because it recognizes these inalienable rights, the just government acts, even still, only with the consent of the governed. These are the principles of self-government (i.e., government not merely by external constraint, but by each individual's morally committed self-restraint), that can enable us to remain one people, even as we remain individually free to be different, for however long we are willing to remain morally committed to honoring these principles. Indeed, America will remain a just and unified nation where minority rights are respected and democratic majorities self-limit their dictates only so long as each generation constantly renews its understanding and commitment to these Declaration Principles. In Jersey City, we believe that unity and freedom are worth working to preserve. That is why we proactively celebrate our people's diverse cultural (including religious) heritages, and the Declaration Principles which make our unity amidst diversity possible! Bret Schundler is the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey |
