My Country, 'Tis of Thee
My Faith, My Family, Our Future
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
As the first Muslim elected to Congress, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison explores what it's like to be an American in the twenty-first century.
As a Black, Latino, and former Catholic who converted to Islam, Keith Ellison, is the first Muslim elected to Congress—from a district with fewer than 1 percent Muslims and 11 percent Blacks. With his unique perspective on uniting a disparate community and speaking to a common goal, Ellison takes a provocative look at America and what needs to change to accommodate different races and beliefs.
Filled with anecdotes, statistics, and social commentary, Ellison touches on everything from the Tea Party to Obama, from race to the immigration debate and more. He also draws some very clear distinctions between parties and shows why the deep polarization is unhealthy for America. Deeply patriotic, with My Country ’Tis of Thee, Ellison strives to help define what it means to be an American today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In January 2007, Ellison stood with his right hand over his heart and his left hand on Thomas Jefferson's Quran as he was sworn in as the first Muslim elected to Congress. Part memoir and part political reflection, Ellison's lackluster and meandering recollections about his childhood and youth in Detroit, his college days and law school days, his eventual move to Minnesota, and his election to Congress reveal very little about the man or the ways that his faith informs his public service. Ellison admits that after 9/11, his candidacy went from being about inclusion and peace to being a defense of the freedom of religion. In a refrain he hammers throughout the book, he reminds us that "we are in a battle for our national soul," yet he offers only the vague advice that " to meet your goals and justify your existence you must have a purpose. Purpose organizes your life." Uninspiring, Ellison's anodyne memoir will have little appeal to anyone outside his circle of influence.
