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Bezig met laden... The Soul of the First Amendmentdoor Floyd Abrams
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![]() Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. ![]() ![]() The first amendment to the constitution is American exceptionalism writ large. It keeps the USA from participating in legal judgments internationally, because virtually everyone else’s speech laws are more restrictive in fact. It might not be the most liberal doctrine in the world, but it is the most scrupulously applied. Floyd Abrams has been a hands-on lawyer in matters of free speech – for decades. I was rather hoping for some dramatic insight from his experience, but The Soul Of The First Amendment is a quick review of how to observe it. Abrams has a very uncomfortable chapter on Citizens United, in which he represented the winning (Republican) side. He acknowledges that 80% of Americans think the Supreme Court decision is wrong, but he defends it as fair, natural, obvious and consistent with the first amendment. He continually points instead to the power of the press, but at the beginning of the book he quotes the founders as wanting the press to be the exception: that nothing should ever restrain it. To the point of not bothering to include it in the first amendment because that was redundant. So it’s not really on the table in Citizens United. He addresses that billion dollar funds and corporations should have the same speech rights as individuals - as accepted. Period. It’s uncomfortable because (from down here) it’s not that government and corporations might swamp politics with money. It’s that their influence should have no place in the discourse among the voters. There should be nothing wrong with setting limits at the lowest common denominator. My money cannot compete with Koch Industries, and Koch Industries doesn’t get a vote. So why is it allowed to cloud the conversation? That’s where Citizens United goes off the rails for most Americans, but Abrams skirts that event horizon. I don’t blame him, but it makes the book incomplete. The final chapter poses the self-censorship problems of the press – whether to publish whistleblower documents and other “Top Secret” files. Nobody likes to have their secrets exposed, but Americans don’t like being spied on in secret, either. But again, the press is not part of the constitution’s equation. The Soul Of The First Amendment doesn’t examine online speech, trolls, gag orders, harassment (other than a short foray into abortion clinic harassment) or secret courts. At just 137 pages, it can’t tackle every aspect. It does put forth a thoughtful analysis of the aspects it does examine, which is a pleasant relief from the strident accusations of our time. Not enough however. David Wineberg geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
"A lively and controversial overview by the nation's most celebrated First Amendment lawyer of the unique protections for freedom of speech in America... The right of Americans to voice their beliefs without government approval or oversight is protected under what may well be the most honored and least understood addendum to the US Constitution: the First Amendment. Floyd Abrams, a noted lawyer and award-winning legal scholar specializing in First Amendment issues, examines the degree to which American law protects free speech more often, more intensely, and more controversially than is the case anywhere else in the world, including democratic nations such as Canada and England. In this lively, powerful, and provocative work, the author addresses legal issues from the adoption of the Bill of Rights through recent cases such as Citizens United. He also examines the repeated conflicts between claims of free speech and those of national security occasioned by the publication of classified material such as was contained in the Pentagon Papers and was made public by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden"--Publisher's website. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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![]() GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)342.7308Social sciences Law Constitutional and administrative law North America Constitutional law--United States Jurisdiction over personsLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:![]()
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