As the North Korean weapons ship disappears from the news and Iran erupts into turmoil over a very questionable election (How can you count fifty million paper ballots in half an hour?), according to the Washington Post, the Senate is dealing with the truly serious matters. The Senate passed a bill yesterday making way for a joint congressional resolution and the latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery.
Please don't misunderstand. I am strongly opposed to any form of slavery anywhere. I think at least 99 per cent of the people in this country regret slavery. America is one of the countries that no long enslaves people. We have been one of the countries that speaks out against slavery. I just wonder at what point we stop apologizing for taking part in something that was acceptable worldwide at the time we were doing it. It was wrong--but it was also part of the cultural norm of the time. I am grateful for William Wilberforce and the role he played in ending slavery (see the movie, Amazing Grace, which tells the story), but I think we can stop apologizing some time soon.
This may be a step toward Americans paying reparations to descendants of slaves. Which Americans will pay the reparations, which Americans are descendants of slaves, does that include indentured servants (which were part of our early history also)? What if your ancestors weren't here during slavery (either as a slave or a master)? Do you still have to pay? Can you still collect? Do we owe reparations to the families of soldiers killed in the Civil War who were fighting to end slavery? Can anyone imagine the nightmare of bureaucracy this is going to create in order to be sorted out? I think we are about to see the law of unintended consequences played out again in our national politics.
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