https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/us/politics/first-amendment-conservatives-supreme-court.html
Despite the honor bestowed on the Constitution by both the left and the right, in many ways, it is a mess. It creates what appear to be literally unbounded protections for free speech and free religion, yet also creates an elaborate system of laws and authorities and controls on us (for taxation, military conscription, and everything else). Resolving these simply means finding human ways to live among the stark contradictions, and without common sense, it's impossible.
Supreme Court faced this in the Wedding Cake decision, stating that a ground rule is absolute freedom of religion and that the courts can't venture to question the sincerity/validity of a stated religious belief. Yet, at the same time, we all know I can't make a private religion for not paying taxes or a private religion for driving 100 mph on the wrong side of the road. Freedom of speech and religion (as stated in the Bill of Rights in absolute terms) would drive us all over the brink - without common sense.
Another aspect of the conservative/liberal weaponization is protection of minorities against mistreatment by majorities opf the democracy. We want (say) a small gay minority protected, but resist protecting a "minority" who are hostile nutcases, but also in the same sense a "minority."
And in WSJ 7/5/2018:
Use of the first amendment (which is written in absolute terms) or freedom of religion (ditto) is not really a liberal or conservative issue. It is closer to a libertarian position. Either free speech or free (personal) religion can be used to "stop" conservative laws from telling people what they can or can't do, just as well as to "stop" liberal laws.
I am not an attorney, but both liberals and conservatives invariably make reference to the sacred and immortal Constitution. Frankly, it's a bit of a mess. It says there can be "no law" about freedom of speech or freedom of religion, and yet the whole constitution is about doing things (levying taxes on you, using those taxes for war and anything else) that could violate someone's absolute right to freedom of speech and increasingly to freedom of personal and perhaps idiosyncratic religion. Common sense and jurisprudence usual sets the balance so society can function despite these contradictions in the Constitution.
