An accessible if overstuffed work of legal and political history that speaks eloquently to democratic reform.
An account of the evolution of the Constitution, from document to cult object and beyond.
Boston College law professor Rana opens his astute yet dense book with a definition of “creedal constitutionalism,” a fundamentalist adherence to a Constitution that allows a president to be elected despite losing the popular vote; a Senate that awards two seats apiece to even the most thinly populated states; and a Supreme Court that can do such things as eliminate the right to abortion, despite overwhelming popular support for it. The Constitution as we find it today, Rana continues, suffers from “three clear institutional pathologies that feed off each other,” among them the blockage of legislative governance unless the majority party achieves a supermajority, and rule by a minority bloc that privileges white, rural communities in national decision-making. So-called originalists hold that this is all just as it should be. However, Rana argues convincingly that it does not reflect the political or demographic composition of the nation, which is more liberal—and more urban and more ethnically diverse—than its government would suggest. Interestingly, this originalist cult and the de facto worship of the Constitution are relatively modern artifacts, but with widely varying possibilities. During the New Deal era, for example, “for labor groups, commemorating the Bill of Rights became a way of celebrating the freedom of association and freedom of speech guarantees in the First Amendment,” while in the Cold War, it became a kind of litmus test for loyalty. The author closes with the thought that the Constitution must evolve further to “support [the] long-standing effort to build a transformative majority in American society,” one that recognizes how we live and work and redistributes governing authority accordingly.
An accessible if overstuffed work of legal and political history that speaks eloquently to democratic reform.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780226350721
Page Count: 784
Publisher: Univ. of Chicago
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.
Two bestselling authors engage in an enlightening back-and-forth about Jewishness and antisemitism.
Acho, author of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, and Tishby, author of Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, discuss many of the searing issues for Jews today, delving into whether Jewishness is a religion, culture, ethnicity, or community—or all of the above. As Tishby points out, unlike in Christianity, one can be comfortably atheist and still be considered a Jew. She defines Judaism as a “big tent” religion with four main elements: religion, peoplehood, nationhood, and the idea of tikkun olam (“repairing the world through our actions”). She addresses candidly the hurtful stereotypes about Jews (that they are rich and powerful) that Acho grew up with in Dallas and how Jews internalize these antisemitic judgments. Moreover, Tishby notes, “it is literally impossible to be Jewish and not have any connection with Israel, and I’m not talking about borders or a dot on the map. Judaism…is an indigenous religion.” Acho wonders if one can legitimately criticize “Jewish people and their ideologies” without being antisemitic, and Tishby offers ways to check whether one’s criticism of Jews or Zionism is antisemitic or factually straightforward. The authors also touch on the deteriorating relationship between Black and Jewish Americans, despite their historically close alliance during the civil rights era. “As long as Jewish people get to benefit from appearing white while Black people have to suffer for being Black, there will always be resentment,” notes Acho. “Because the same thing that grants you all access—your skin color—is what grants us pain and punishment in perpetuity.” Finally, the authors underscore the importance of being mutual allies, and they conclude with helpful indexes on vernacular terms and customs.
An important dialogue at a fraught time, emphasizing mutual candor, curiosity, and respect.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781668057858
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Element
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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