” * Your First Amendment rights – freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
* Your right to equal protection under the law – equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
* Your right to due process – fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
* Your right to privacy – freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.”

Is the problem in Flint really that the ACLU is defending freedom of expression, or that the culture of Flint has not demanded parents set and enforced better standards of behavior for their children, let alone for themselves?

Let's look at the case of Kayla Renee Holland in neighboring Mt. Morris; what were the root causes of Kayla's untimely death? Conservatives objected to the examination of the culture that made guns so readily available, or the issues that kept the 6-year-old classmate who shot Kayla from spending more time with healthy adults. Are the underlying issues that resulted in Kayla's death also the same ones that underpin a far more minor challenge like “sagging”?

As a mother I'll tell you that the ACLU is not the problem. It's the lack of personal responsibility on the part of individuals and the community as a whole, and the glorification of negative behaviors combined with a systemic lack of deep examination and critical thought. Blaming an organization for protecting Constitutional rights is the easy way out, a method for avoiding personal and societal blame which does virtually nothing to solve the problems of Flint let alone those of the rest of this state and our country.