I have written previously and extensively on the issue of reparations. It's a no-win argument in my estimation: come out for reparations, and you are living in the past. Come out against reparations, and you risk being portrayed as an insensitive white supremacist ignorant of the brutality of our history. So how do you right a wrong?
History, of course, is rife with injustice. If you don't believe me, just turn on your local and national news and spend about 20 minutes staring at the television screen. Been there, done that, don't need the t-shirt to prove it. Slavery was a shameful, brutal, and unjust chapter in our national history. Yes, that is probably something of an understatement, but I'm trying to be rational here.
The problem from where I sit is that Lincoln freed the slaves in 1865. Anyone who was directly harmed by slavery has been dead lo, these many years. To be fair, one must now address this argument: To whom are we responsible, and what form should that responsibility take? I would submit to you that our responsibility at this point in history is very simple. We must work hard to ensure that nothing like slavery can ever happen again. We cannot change what has taken place, nor can we adequately compensate those who suffered directly, for they are dead.
The call from African-Americans for reparations raises another troubling question. If we must pay African-Americans for the suffering of their ancestors, where do we stop? My Irish relatives suffered tremendous persecution when they first came over in the mid-19th century. Since something like 40-45% of all Americans can claim some degree of Irish ancestry, do we then owe all of these folks reparations as well? When do I get my check?
As a society, we must stop expecting that we must be financially compensated for every wrong we or our ancestors have suffered. No amount of money can change what has already taken place. I've managed to overcome the trauma of the abuse suffered by my Irish relatives. No, they were not officially enslaved, but many Irishmen were de facto slaves. Shouldn't that be worth something?
We live in a world where "fair play", "respect", and "dignity" are the expected norms. This was hardly the case in the 19th century. To judge those times by our current standards, and to compensate certain classes for those trespasses is both wrong and dishonest. The proposed "compensation" would do nothing to change what the compensation is supposed to address.
There is NO reason that money should be paid directly to anyone who did not suffer DIRECTLY at the hands of the slave system. If something must be done, let us fund scholarship programs for all students. Let us teach our children about the basic dignity of all human beings. Let us learn how to respect each other for who we are and we each of us brings to the table. We should NOT pay money to individuals who did not suffer at the hands of slavery and for whom the money would amount to little more than a lifestyle upgrade.
I am not unsympathetic to the plight of those who have suffered. The problem in this case, though, is that those who suffered have dead for quite some time. When do we quit living in the past and try to make things better TODAY?
