Racism has always dominated American politics and it’s not unusual for it to seep into the hallowed halls of the American Congress.

The Congress is a mirror of American society itself, reflecting how changes sometimes are difficult but continue to take place despite the rantings of extremists and racists, mainly from neocon Republicans and the conservative mainstream American news media.

Everyone focused on Keith Ellison as he was sworn in this week as the first Muslim member of the United States Congress. In a way, the racist battle waged by mainstream media bigots cast an important light on this event that might otherwise have been ignored.

But despite the attacks, Ellison took his oath of office in exactly the same manner that every member of the new Congress took the oath of office, by raising their right hand and repeating the oath as it was read to them from the podium.

Extremists and racists who dominate the mainstream American media had launched an ugly campaign asserting incorrectly that Ellison would swear his oath on the Qur’an, the religious book of Islam.

Ellison is an African American who converted to Islam. After the official ceremony, he did what every member did, retreating to their offices to pose for an official portrait with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with their right hand in the air and their hand on books that are rarely discernable in any of the portraits but that most assume are Bibles.

He posed with his left hand on a copy of a Qur’an that was owned by a former revered American president and one of the country’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.

It was an ironic and appropriate slap in the face of the bigots who claimed that holding anything other than a Bible would be unpatriotic.

In fact, as it turned out, Jefferson was well versed on the Qur’an and Islam and recognized the importance that religious freedom plays as the patriotic cornerstone of American democracy. Jefferson’s Qur’an was loaned to Ellison by, of all places, the United States Library of Congress. So ended the storm that anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racists waged in the past two months against Ellison, claiming that he would take an Oath to Islam rather than to the US Constitution.

Elsewhere, other religious, racial and gender firsts continued most with little fanfare or debate about which religious icons would be used in individual portraits. Pelosi herself symbolized an important achievement, becoming the first woman to serve as the House Speaker, a position that puts her second in line behind Vice President Dick Cheney in the event that President Bush is unable to serve, or possibly impeached from office for all of his lies involving the war in Iraq.

Harry Reid became the first Mormon to serve as the Majority Leader of the US Senate. Mormon’s also have their own Bible that differs dramatically from the “Bible” which was hailed by racists and bigots as the official symbol of American patriotism.

There are a total of 15 Mormons in the Congress now. Two Buddhists were also sworn in as Congress members.

The Jewish community celebrated a new record, electing 43 of their faith to Congress. In a body that consists of 533 total members (233 Democrats and 202 Republicans in the House, and 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and two independents in the Senate). That’s far from the number needed to “control” American foreign policy that is often stereotyped to their faith.

Some 52 Arab Americans also ran for office around the country for various offices, local, state and national. Only four won seats in the US Congress, all incumbents who held the posts prior to the election.

There are 43 blacks, including only one in the Senate, 30 Hispanics, one Native American Indian, and nine Asian Americans. And, there are also four sets of siblings serving at the same time, too.

At least one openly racist congressman, Virgil Goode, was re-elected to the Congress. Goode had demanded that Ellison be blocked from taking his seat and he urged his fellow legislators to adopt new laws to prevent Muslims from immigrating to American shores.

Ellison, as it turns out, did not immigrate at all. Born in Detroit, Ellison converted to Islam. Clearly, the Christian Bible, which is a Biblical continuation of the Jewish religion and a precursor to the founding of the Islamic religion which recognizes nearly all of the Christian and Jewish prophets, has nothing to do with American patriotism at all.

And that is good to know in America.