Be the People: A Book Review

I’m flipping the calendar to November today. In one week, I’ll be standing in line at the polls and ready to vote! Yay! Being an American is such an incredible blessing and an exciting, empowering privilege.

But as Spiderman was told…(all together now:) “With great power comes great responsibility.”

The leaders of our country are not holding all the power. Each citizen has the power to let his or her voice be heard—whether by phone calls to representatives, letters to the editor, purposeful conversations with friends and family, and even financial support. This is our country and we need to take responsibility for its course.

Author Carol M. Swain, PhD., exhorts us with the title of her stirring book: Be the People: A Call to Reclaim America’s Faith & Promise.

Let me summarize: I LOVED this book. When I first received it in the mail, I was intimidated by the amount of words and pages. Though I was interested in the topics and love reading my Citizen magazine each month (Thank you, Focus on the Family!), I wasn’t sure how well I would be able to get into a whole book of such information.

I didn’t need to worry. It was both interesting and engaging. I found myself picking it up at breakfast, on my lunch break, in the evenings. I shared thoughts from it with my family and my friends and my co-workers—who kindly put up with my enthusiasm!

The author looks at the founding values of America and contrasts them with those of today. She covers crucial topics of abortion, the definition of marriage, racism, and immigration. These topics weren’t new to me, yet I learned so much from the studies, lawsuits, quotations, and more that Ms. Swain expertly compiled along with her opinions and knowledge. My favorite chapter was undoubtedly “Family Matters.”

As far as any negative feedback on the book, I don’t think I can give more than a sentence or two. Naturally, I didn’t agree with everything the author said, but I feel she did a great job presenting facts and opinions fairly. Even if I disagreed or did not have a formed opinion, she provided me with lots of food for thought. There were a few times it felt over my head or failed to keep me as engaged, but overall I am so glad I read this book. It was stirring, convicting, and energizing. I plan to pass it on for others to read and I highly recommend it.

[I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers via Booksneeze at no charge. These are my honest and original comments about the book.]