An Effective Use of Sophistry by the ACLU

When I stopped by the About page of the ACLU today, I found this excellent example of effective political sophistry:

Majority power is limited by the Constitution's Bill of Rights, which consists of the original ten amendments ratified in 1791, plus the three post-Civil War amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th) and the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage), adopted in 1920.

The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees:

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

Notice how they begin with reference to our Bill of Rights.  The term "Bill of Rights" entered our dictionary circa 1780 with tremendous prestige. When I read the term on their webpage, I behaved as they expected, and brought some of that august history to mind.  Not only am I in a different "Frame of Mind" now, I'm also in a different "Frame of Feel" (for lack of a better word).  They expected this also.

Next, they provided the date of ratification, implying that their point of view is that of a scholarly, historic authority.

Now that they've set the desired context for me:

Sophistry #1:  They add 4 amendments to the Bill of Rights; skipping forward over 70 years for their first addition, and almost 130 years for their last.

In their next paragraph, they claim to be on a "mission" to "preserve" "protections and guarantees".  Specifically which/what "protections and guarantees"?  "These."  I've just read a paragraph about the Bill of Rights and 4 other actual amendments, all of which I strongly support; and I Love the Bill of Rights.  I've just answered the question of what they are referring to when they used the word "these", and as they planned, I'm now in full support of their mission.

Sophistry #2: They change the meaning of the word "these". It no longer means those 14 amendments, but now just the 4 items on the list that follows. This list includes only a tattered remnant of the 1^st Amendment, while the remaining 90% of the Bill of Rights has just vanished.

The rhetorical goal of the ACLU here is to gain acceptance by the reader as a "Worthy Defender of The Bill of Rights".  Much of their success in accomplishing their objectives is because of the support they receive as result of this deception.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle

Bumper Stickers that caught my eye:

"Friends don't let friends vote republican"

"Guns don't kill people. I do."