For 240 years, most Americans have identified our country with its government as the embodiment of “Freedom” and the nation itself. Take away the Constitution, Congress, and presidential elections, and not only liberty but the United States themselves would vanish.
Or would they? We have a government that imposes social change from above at breakneck speed, while each presidential election seems to offer even more pathetic choices than the one before. Many are scratching their heads and wondering – not just “where are we going?” but “how did we get here?” Is our governmental system itself – the leading symbol of the American way of life – heading for a meltdown? And if it is, what – if anything – shall be left of our country?
Star-Spangled Crown is a book that comes to us from over a century in the future. That feared meltdown has already occurred – but these United States survived the loss of the presidency. Erected on the ruins of our current regime, a Monarchy has emerged; contrary to all of our 21st century notions, it is a thoroughly American institution. How it functions – as and where all governments, including our present one must function – is the subject of the book.
Star-Spangled Crown is not a call for radical change. It is an invitation for serious thought about the realities of civil life that we as a people have spent more than two centuries ignoring or avoiding at our ultimate peril. What values shall our society express? Who makes those decisions? By what right do they do so? What is America really – or, as our 22nd century author might say, what are the United States? Star-Spangled Crown offers one set of answers from a possible future – but above all, it calls on you to ask the questions in the present.
:
Charles A. Coulombe is one of North America’s most respected and sought-after commentators on culture, religion, history, and politics. A specialist in the history and government of the Catholic Church, Coulombe’s influence and expertise extend far beyond matters religious. He has written on topics ranging from the history of rum to haunted houses to a history of the United States.Mr. Coulombe is a social and political commentator of note. In 2005 he provided narration and commentary for ABC News during the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the subsequent election and installation of Pope Benedict XVI. A former journalist, Mr. Coulombe served as a film reviewer and Contributing Editor of the National Catholic Register, during which time he received the Christian Law Institute's Christ King Journalism Award. Coulombe's work has appeared in over than 20 journals, including regular columns in Fidelity (Australia), PRAG (London), Monarchy Canada, and Creole Magazine (Louisiana). He has also been a frequent contributor to such publications as Success, Catholic Twin Circle, Gnosis, FATE, and the New Oxford Review.
As an informed and passionate speaker on a wide variety of religious, social, political, historical, and literary topics, Mr. Coulombe has appeared on lecture circuits throughout the North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1992 he lectured at Oxford University and the following year embarked on a lecture tour of Ireland and Great Britain, returning to Oxford and Cambridge in 1995. Coulombe has also delivered lectures at the University of Southern California on the history of Rock & Roll and at Cleveland's John Carroll University on the history of medieval monarchy. In February 2011, he was invited to take part in a debate on the abolition of the monarchy before the prestigious Oxford Union.