June 1, 2007 6:18 AM

Your tax dollars at work...or not

Alabama Governor Signs Slavery Apology

MONTGOMERY, Ala. ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ Gov. Bob Riley signed a resolution Thursday expressing “profound regret” for Alabama’s role in slavery and apologizing for slavery’s wrongs and lingering effects…. “Slavery was evil and is a part of American history,” the Republican governor said. “I believe all Alabamians are proud of the tremendous progress we have made and continue to make.”…. Alabama is the fourth Southern state to pass a slavery apology, following votes by the legislatures in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Alabama’s Democrat-controlled Legislature approved the resolution last week.

Having apparently solved all of their state’s current problem, it appears that the Alabama Legislature is now hard at work trying to cure the sins of the past. Strange; I’d always thought you couldn’t fix the past…that IS, after all, why it’s called the past. Of course, I realize that no one is trying to “fix” the past, but I’m not at all certain what apologizing to people who didn’t suffer from slavery on behalf of people who weren’t involved in the slaved trade will accomplish. I suppose that once the resolution passed, legislators cheered, slapped each other on the back, and then retired to the nearest watering hole, where they regaled themselves and anyone who would listen with tales of their accomplishment.

Unfortunately, all the Alabama Legislature really accomplished is to create a resolution that does little except makes themselves feel good. It could be worse, though; at least they’re not talking about reparations.

The resolution describes “centuries of brutal dehumanization and injustices” and says “the vestiges of slavery are ever before African-American citizens.”

It also says the House and Senate “express our profound regret for the State of Alabama’s role in slavery and that we apologize for the wrongs inflicted by slavery and its after effects in the United States of America.”

Riley said he said he signed the resolution partly because it offered an opportunity to present a new image for his state.

“Alabama’s a different state today and we should be proud of it,” Riley said.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a heartfelt apology, I suppose…except that the people to whom it should have been directed have in most cases been dead for at least a hundred years. No African-American alive today, in Alabama or elsewhere, can claim to have suffered the privations of slavery. A resolution of apology changes NOTHING- except to recognize the historical reality that slavery was a terrible black mark on our nation’s history. That’s something every elementary school student should be learning these days.

If apologizing for slavery makes Alabama’s legislators feel better about themselves, so be it- but can we stop pretending that this hollow gesture is actually going to accomplish anything?

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 1, 2007 6:18 AM.

Great moments in product placement, #13 was the previous entry in this blog.

Happy Hurricane Season!! is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12