Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the House of
Representatives (from Minnesota of all places) debates all the things he finds
annoying with the nation. He complains that Nikki Haley, the Indian born
governor of South Carolina, appointed the African American conservative Tea
Party supporter to fill a vacant Senate seat in 2010. Have things finally gone
full circle? Maybe, but this was the sate that gave us Strom Thurmond, the die-hard
segregationist whose platform died after the Civil Rights movement. I might
also add that Thurmond’s platform was undone thanks in part to his
African-American daughter and son in law, both of whom worked in the Civil
Rights movement. Regardless, I’d rather see governor Haley appoint a
conservative Tea Party supporter than a Polish American sleazeball who tried to
sell a vacant Senate seat and is now serving ten years in jail. For every
honest right-winger there are plenty of grafters in the Rod Blagovitch mold.
I’m going to give
this book high marks because Ellison doesn’t put on airs. His parents were
doctors, he grew up in Detroit, and discusses how Detroit used to be home to
the African American middle class. He admits his parents weren’t perfect, doesn’t
accuse anybody of holding him back. He criticizes the media for creating
anti-Muslim hysteria after 9/11, but he also criticizes Minister Farakhan of
the Nation of Islam. He calls out Farakhan’s presence at the Million Man March,
and how it didn’t address the economic problems of the people.
Ellison’s book
reminds me a little of D.L Hughley’s book I
Want You to Shut the &%#$ Up! In the way that it criticizes both sides
with zero loyalty. That’s what makes some books become a great read; when you’re
not concerned with loyalty or pleasing everyone, you can say what you like.
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