Folks have called slavery America’s “original sin” although I’m sure that Native-Americans would disagree. Recently there has been some discussion about whether or not American history is actually “anti-American” because history teachers tell the whole story and not just the fame and glory bits about the country. It is important to tell the truth but especially when imparting the past of our country. It explains why some wars, for example Vietnam and Afghanistan, are unwinnable because the world will no longer tolerate civilization destroying, civilian devastating wars of annihilation like World War Two where repugnant cultures could be completely wiped out and rebuilt from the ground up.
The past is the past and there isn’t much to be done about it other than learn from it and try not to repeat it. Slavery was a soul sucking, oppressive, exploitative system predicated on wrong, racist beliefs. Slavery at one time was widespread throughout the world. It was not an exclusively American institution. Africans enslaved each other on the continent of Africa and sold their fellow black skinned brethren to white slave traders for profit. Some white people realized earlier than others that it was wrong. The author of Amazing Grace was a slave ship captain who saw the light on one of his trips hauling enslaved human beings, renounced the practice to write hymns and dedicate his life to God.
Roughly two-thirds of the country renounced slavery long before the Civil War. About 750,000 people died in that war to eradicate slavery from the rest of the nation. Of course there was oppression, lynching and truncated opportunities for African-Americans for a century after the Civil War. Now, many Americans are calling for reparations for slavery.
Every year since 1989 a federal commission to study proposals for reparations has been introduced in the Congress. There is a similar resolution working its way through the House of Representatives right now. Slavery certainly was wrong but what can be done about it now? Are you responsible for slavery, a practice that ended more than 150 years ago? We’re a nation of immigrants, were your ancestors even here 150 years ago.? If they were did your ancestors own slaves?
Should all African-Americans get reparations regardless of their ancestry? I have an African-American friend who is an immigrant from Liberia, now a US citizen. Should he get reparations for a practice that ended 156 years ago that didn’t involve any of his ancestors since he is the first American in his family just because he is Black and living here now? Should African-Americans who have “made good” like President Obama, Meghan Markel, Denzel Washington and others get reparations even though they are successful and are at the pinnacle of American society?
If there are to be reparations, how much should they be and who pays? Do we take the tax money of only white people for slavery reparations since Native-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and other minorities weren’t part of the slavery equation? Racist, imperialistic Americans oppressed Pacific-Islanders in Hawaii are they also in for reparations as well? We treated Asian Americans so badly in the past (now too, if you have been watching the news and the coverage of all the anti-Asian attacks lately in the US) that the treatment of Asian Americans in California caused an international incident with Japan in the early 1900’s.
I love the movie Bruce Almighty where Morgan Freeman, playing God, relinquishes his powers to Jim Carrey, the character Bruce, for a time. Bruce is overwhelmed by prayers of people to win the lottery so he allows everybody to win. They each get only $14. The same will be true of reparations. No matter how much reparations are, if there are any, once the money is divvied up the response will be “Hundreds of years of slavery and this is all I get on behalf of my ancestors!?!”
Slavery was tragic and wrong. The racism and oppression that African-Americans experienced and have experienced was and is wrong too. We’ve passed Affirmative Action, Civil and Voting Rights Acts, used the Justice Department and the Courts to right wrongs and will continue to do so. Reparations aren’t practical. They aren’t fair to the current generation of Americans. They would never be enough to satisfy those who still feel wronged and cannot possibly go to those who actually suffered from slavery since they are long dead. Reparations are another one of those legislative ideas that look good on paper but are a bad reality. The whole concept should be dropped as too expensive, unworkable and unnecessarily divisive.