Posted by
Jason Ivey on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 10:16:56 AM
Barack Obama yesterday addressed many of his cheering disciples in the press, and spoke of the United States' "tragic" history in regards to its treatment of Native Americans and other persons of color.
He said:
"There's no doubt that when it comes to our treatment of Native Americans as well as other persons of color in this country, we've got some very sad and difficult things to account for." He went on: "I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged."
Fine. But what does he mean by "acknowledge"? There exists within his party a growing movement to apologize for slavery and for the treatment of American Indians. Some want to take the issue even further in the form of offering reparations.
A couple of thoughts here. No one alive today has been either a slave or a slave owner. No one alive today has displaced or slaughtered any groups of American Indians, and no descendants of American Indians have invaded or attacked any white settlements. While we could not nor should not forget or misunderstand the painful or negative aspects of our shared history, this attempt on the part of Obama and his fellow Democrats serves to further drive a wedge between different groups in this country, and it's an arrogant attempt by Obama to set himself up as the messiah who can heal all wounds. The reality is that it's a further attack by him on our nation and our history. We've all had to live with the consequences of slavery, from the divisions that still consume black and white, to the stunted growth of the southern states. And let us not forget that slavery was an extremely divisive issue since this country's inception, leading to a devastating civil war that cost both sides tens of thousands of lives.
If the Democrats really want to apologize for something, then I would suggest some apologies for the many failed policies of the post-New Deal era. How about apologizing for the welfare state that kept black families dependent on government hand-outs for decades. How about apologizing for Medicare and Medicaid, which have severely damaged our health care system and plunged our government into trillions of dollars in debt. How about apologizing for tying our hands and preventing us from developing our own sources of energy, so that we don't have to depend on the tyrants and thugs of the world.
The list could go on, but I think this would be a good start.