Scott Allan's World

The Senate passed a Bill yesterday apologizing for slavery.  This is absurd for many reasons.  The most obvious reason is that nobody currently alive ever was or owned a slave.  Nobody’s father or grandfather ever was or owned a slave. Well, I take that back,former Klansman Senator Robert Byrd, born 1917 may have had a slave owning grandfather.   We are apologizing for the actions of people so many generations back that we never met and probably do not even know their names.  I would also like to make it clear that my family did not arrive in the United States until the 20th century so this apology is in no way related to anything my ancestors have done and that probably applies to a great many Americans including my wife who just became a citizen last year.  I have a guilt free conscience.

As far as I am concerned, the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil War, and the Thirteenth Amendment cleared up all this slavery business 150 years ago.  That is a long time to hold a grudge against an act that was never perpetrated against anyone who is actually demanding the apology.  Nor was it perpetrated by or against anyone they ever knew.  What responsibility do the descendants of any wrong doer have for the crime they didn’t commit? Are the descendants of Brutus responsible for his murder of Caesar?   Why should anyone carry the sins of their father?  And why should those who are not descendants carry the sins of other fathers?

So what does this apology accomplish?   By not apologizing is there some sort of implication that we as a society actually still approve of slavery?  Certainly not, as evidenced by the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment.  No doubt we could have less controversy if the Bill simply reiterated our belief that slavery was wrong.  Who could argue with that even if there would seem to be little point to it?  So there seems to be some secondary, more sinister motivation that demands an actual apology rather than repudiation.

Of course the biggest fear is that there will be a claim for reparations.  The Senate Bill clearly states that this is not their intention.  Plus, I think the statute of limitations has probably run out unless there is some overwhelming sense of guilt that leads to a voluntary compensation.  Boy would that be a hard thing to prove and even if you could somehow connect people back to the original slaves and slaveowners, why should everyone not even indirectly involved have to pay for this through taxes?  Do immigrants from Vietnam have to pay reparations as well?  Isn’t it just another way to redistribute wealth to and from those who do not deserve it?

What I think it is is that some are trying to perpetuate the legacy of slavery with victim and entitlement status for minorities. Without it, there would be no quotas and no affirmative action.  There would be no race based handouts and without that an entire money making, race based industry would dry up.  Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton need this issue to generate income.  Liberals need class warfare to get people elected.  That is what I think is driving this effort.  Combine that with politicians terrified of being politically incorrect or being labeled a racist, and you get an apology 150 years after the fact.

So the next question should be why is Congress apologizing?  I think partially because some do actually feel guilty for things they’ve never done and for some it’s to put this nonsense to rest and not have to continually address it.

However, in my life I have apologized for many things that were truly not my fault to make just to be the bigger man and keep the peace.  And I have said I’m sorry to people, not because I did anything in particular, but because I sympathize with their pain, such as, “Sorry for your loss”.  So without acknowledging responsibility, and since it costs me nothing, and it may make someone feel better for some odd reason…

I’m sorry.

There you have your apology.  What are you going to do with it?