"Hologram of Liberty: The Constitution's Shocking Alliance with Big Government" by Kenneth W. Royce (aka Boston T. Party) is a book that makes you think, or at least it should. I personally found it to be quite eye opening, and respect the amount of research that went into this analysis of the United States Constitution. I believe this is an important book, and many more people should read it. And you don't have to take it on face value if you don't want, just go do some research on your own, because Royce provides a great road map with the research he's done, and that's the thing about this book, it contains so many quotes and passages from other sources that support Royce's conclusions.
In this analysis of the Constitution, Royce illustrates the weaknesses of the Constitution, and how the large government we now have has grown because of the way the document was drafted, not in spite of it. Royce definitely believes the Federal Government has become too powerful and intrusive, and I share this belief, although maybe not to the extent of the author. This book shows how the Constitution was not meant to enshrine State autonomy or hold individual rights over federal interests, nor was it meant to stunt federal growth. Big claims? Well, read the book.
Many in our country want to hold the Constitution as almost something sacred, but once you read this book, you will recognize the difficulties and disagreements the drafters had when forming the document, and where compromises and inaccuracies crept in, making it seem much less sacred , and more of typical political wranglings that continue to exist with the formation and drafting of just about anything that comes from our government.
Royce believes changes are coming, and in fact encourages concerned citizens to be part of these changes. He also provides some solutions to some of the problems he points out, and I thought some of his ideas were right on, while I don't foresee some of them ever being realized. I actually blogged about one of the ideas Royce suggested that I really liked. And while I respect freedom, liberty, gun rights, and such, I'm not as anti-government as Royce is, but then maybe I have not been bitten hard enough yet.
I will say this, I enjoyed reading "Hologram of Liberty" and firmly believe that Royce is 100% correct when he says people should "Think. Decide. Act. Now." It is all of our responsibilities to educate ourselves and act on those things important to us. With this book, Royce has provided a well researched analysis of the Constitution that should at the very least make you think a little bit more about our government and why things are as they are. It should also stimulate thought on what can be done to make changes to improve our country. So read this book and become educated on our government and the document it's based on.