On December 4th, Richard Van Wickler from the American Civil Liberties Union, addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua, regarding the ACLU-NH. Rick is the superintendent of the Cheshire County Department of Corrections, and served 26 years in the military. He has been serving on the ACLU-NH Board of Directors since March 2015.
Rick gave us a little bit of his background in the military and Department of Corrections. His perspective is not that we are a “Melting Pot” since that involves melting many into unrecognizable parts of a whole, but that the US is a Mosaic: You come from where you are and you continue to be who you are, as the parts of a mosaic. People come to the US in pursuit of Freedom: the power or right to speak or act as one wants without restraint.
Our country not only protects rebellious speech, but encourages it. A quote attributed to Voltaire: “I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to my death for your right to say it.” This was in fact not Voltaire, but Evelyn Beatrice Hall, born 100 years after he died, and a member of the Voltaire Society.
Rick became a Board member 3 years ago. The ACLU is non-profit and non-partisan, and is dedicated to protecting the commitment to equality including people of all faiths and genders. There are few paid staff and only one litigator, who handles about 20 cases per year including immigrant, women’s, voting, elderly and free speech issues. The handle cases of government overreach, and consider that the ACLU is the David to the Goliath that is the US Government.
We must be able to have our differences and voice our opinions. The US flag represents our freedom and the veterans are the ones who make it happens. The ACLU was founded to ensure the promise of the Bill of Rights. For example, in 1942, the ACLU stood alone against government internment of Japanese Americans. Rick feels a good place to start with what the ACLU stands for is the Rotary 4 Way test.
Rick then fielded questions, many of which dealt with specific issues, and as he is not a litigator, he was not able to answer some of them. He then offered a membership sign up to anyone who was interested.