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In his book The Courage of Their Convictions, author Peter Irons seeks to remove the “masks of the law” that covers the faces and the stories of individuals who have taken a stand on an issue and fought it all the way to the Supreme Court. The book examines sixteen different cases with two chapters devoted to each; the first chapter covering the history of the case, and another chapter in which the the individuals behind the case tell their own stories. The cases span five decades and cover four major issue areas; religion, race, protest and privacy.

Not all of the individuals in the book won at the Supreme Court. Some saw victory come to later cases that followed their own, and others have not. In Lilliam Gobitis v. Minersville School District, for example, the court’s ruling that the school district could compel a student to salute the flag was overturned just three years later. In other cases, such as those that relate to a woman’s right to choose, or against state sodomy laws, individual rights remain subject to the current makeup of the court, and national levels of tolerance in general.

I knew I would enjoy this book from the preface, in which the author shared a quote from the poet e.e. cummings’ poem, “i sing of Olaf glad and big“, in which Olaf the Conscientious Objector declares, “there is some shit I will not eat”. In the poem, Olaf dies in prison for his protest. His real-life counterparts are many. This book tells the story of just a few, who took a stand for their beliefs, often at great personal risks over the course of many years, because they likewise were served some shit they refused to eat. These often anonymous Americans have played an important part in defining and protecting the rights that characterize us as Americans. This book was an informative and enjoyable read that I’d recommend to anyone.