| Description |
xiv, 256 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-242) and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction: Who we are -- The cult of the Constitution -- The cult of the gun -- The cult of free speech -- The cult of the internet -- Conclusion: Until we all are free. |
| Summary |
"In this controversial and provocative book, Mary Anne Franks examines the thin line between constitutional fidelity and constitutional fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution reveals how deep fundamentalist strains in both conservative and liberal American thought keep the Constitution in the service of white male supremacy. Constitutional fundamentalists read the Constitution selectively and self-servingly. Fundamentalist interpretations of the Constitution elevate certain constitutional rights above all others, benefit the most powerful members of society, and undermine the integrity of the document as a whole. The conservative fetish for the Second Amendment (enforced by groups such as the NRA) provides an obvious example of constitutional fundamentalism; the liberal fetish for the First Amendment (enforced by groups such as the ACLU) is less obvious but no less influential. Economic and civil libertarianism have increasingly merged to produce a deregulatory, "free-market" approach to constitutional rights that achieves fullest expression in the idealization of the Internet. The worship of guns, speech, and the Internet in the name of the Constitution has blurred the boundaries between conduct and speech and between veneration and violence. But the Constitution itself contains the antidote to fundamentalism. The Cult of the Constitution lays bare the dark, antidemocratic consequences of constitutional fundamentalism and urges readers to take the Constitution seriously, not selectively." -- Provided by publisher. |
| Subject |
United States. Constitution. 1st Amendment.
|
|
United States. Constitution. 2nd Amendment.
|
|
Civil rights -- United States.
|
|
Freedom of expression -- United States.
|
|
Firearms -- Law and legislation -- United States.
|
|
Equality before the law -- United States.
|
|
Law -- United States -- Philosophy.
|
|
Constitution (United States) (OCoLC)fst01356075
|
|
Civil rights. (OCoLC)fst00862627
|
|
Equality before the law. (OCoLC)fst00914477
|
|
Firearms -- Law and legislation.
(OCoLC)fst00925588
|
|
Freedom of expression. (OCoLC)fst01200263
|
|
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
|
| Note |
Title on dust jacket: Cult of the constitution : our deadly devotion to guns and free speech |
| Other Form: |
Online version: Franks, Mary Anne, 1977- author. Cult of the constitution Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2019 9781503609105 (DLC) 2018055321 (OCoLC)1073996733 |
| ISBN |
9781503603226 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
|
1503603229 (hardcover ; alkaline paper) |
|
9781503609105 (e-book) |
|
