 |
 |
 |
|||
Legal
|
On ReparationsGuilt by ancestry?
At first glance reparations appear to be a great idea. Politicians and would-be politicians use this hot-button idea to gain a block of voters and to promote the idea of their fairness. The people who figure to receive reparations are, of course, interested because it appears to right a wrong, it appears to cause our government to apologize for allowing past actions, and it provides free money to some - primarily the class-action lawyers. However, if reparations are sanctioned by congress it will open all of us to legal possibilities that seem to benefit lawyers more than the descendants of slaves. Government has no money despite the fact it appears to waste large amounts yearly. The money must come from each taxpayer and each taxpayer becomes a party to the decision, even those who were not directly involved and even those whose ancestors were not part of the United States during the slavery period. Descendants of slaves paying taxes are only paying the government to repay themselves. Sounds a lot like the tax break we received in 2001 only to have to repay it in 2002. Reparations are more smoke and mirrors and of no real benefit except to the few using it to gain attention and office. Reparation are unfair, morally irresponsible, and legally suspect. As I understand it, I am being help responsible for the actions of my ancestors, assuming my ancestors owned slaves. Does this mean that if my Dad or Great, Great Granddad harmed your Dad or Great, Great Granddad I am legally and morally responsible for his actions and you can now seek reparations from me or any one related to him? If your Great Uncle stole a horse from mine, prepare to be sued, not only for the price of the horse but also for the inconvenience to my Great Uncle and for the possible offspring the horse could have sired or had. Ridiculous? Once reparations are accepted as legal, it will become case history for future cases of reparation for all kinds of past deeds. Everyone will be checking their family tree for legal actions, so at least family histories may benefit. I cannot see the sense morally or legally of being held responsible for actions or deeds in which I had no part except to be related to a person or persons that committed these acts. While I am not condoning what was done, I don’t feel it proper to judge those actions based on today’s civil or moral codes. As I understand it, slavery was legal, at least in some states and the federal government did not sanction this act but rather allowed each state to determine their own course of action. The era of slavery is not to be glorified or glamorized because the methods used to acquire slaves may have been illegal and some slaves were treated inhumanly, but I wasn’t there to protest or concur. Slavery has existed for thousands of years. The strong have always enslaved the weak either through war or economic control. To condemn a nation for actions that occurred over 150 years ago is proper, but to make the present generation monetarily responsible for those actions is just as immoral. Yes, I know the reparation money is to be spent to aid not only Blacks but also all children in depressed areas of this nation. If aid is the main criteria for reparation then we have been paying it for years in the form or welfare and other supports to help the needy. If an apology is what is wanted, I can see that being done by congress through a writ of some kind. But, if a legal admission of guilt from our government is desired, I cannot judge the past based on today’s attitudes. Slavery was confined primarily to the Southern states, very few were held in the Northern states. Does this mean only Southerner’s are responsible for slavery and only those people that kept slaves? Why should a family that never owned slaves be liable for reparation or is it just easier to sue an accuse everyone. Will reparations correct the wrongs of the past? Will reparations make the issue of slavery disappear? Will those Blacks who can trace their roots to a person held in slavery be suddenly changed and release from their mental torment? What is the real purpose of pursuing reparations? Even if reparations are make, does it really change anything? Slavery was not illegal until Lincoln made his proclamation, although smuggling of slaves had been banned earlier and some section and territories were mandates as slave free. Should we be held accountable for what was then a legal act? Slavery was not considered morally wrong by a great number of people not only in this country but in other countries around the world. Are we being held to a higher standard because this country was founded on the principle of freedom. Our forefathers were fleeing religious intolerance and the evils of being lower class with the upper class controlling their lives. The concept of being enslaved to repay debts was not new to them and because of this, perhaps they should have been more aware of slavery possibilities. This collection of thirteen, individualistic colonies signed a agreement to become an independent country. Yet, each colony now called a state felt they had to right to proceed as they saw fit. The federal government was only to help in matters that affected the whole country. They were in the process of understanding what they were and what they were becoming. It took the vision and courage of one man to realize that a nation based on individual freedom could not tolerate any people being enslaved by another. This radical idea scared those with minds less flexible and those who saw their future being destroyed. A war was fought, which decided whether states rights exceeded federal rights. The war was not just about slavery, it was just the last straw. To blame the Civil War only on slavery is to demean and diminish our history and the lives forfeited on both sides of the conflict. The war was primarily about power and authority even though the abolitionists were successful in making slavery appear to be the only issue. The Confederacy believed that the states were all powerful and only delegate power to the national government and that those powers could be voided at any time. We were a group of individuals still trying to learn to act as a team. The war was only a starting point, we are still learning what it means to be a nation of many races but the favorite of none. While the concept of reparations should be debated, it should not be used to inflame or to divide. Racial intolerance is still part of our mindset for some need to hate, some to feel superior, and others to feel degraded. We all seek something to make out lives appear better and in our ignorance, we feel better when we blame others for our own problems. If we were of all one race, then we would find some other criteria, such as people who wear long hair or loud shirts or smoke cigars. We cannot improve our nation or our unity by holding up the past as an example of good or bad. While the past must be used as a learning experience, it is the future that must be lived and changed. This cannot be done by attempting to blame the past for our present condition because until we accept the responsibility for what we are and realize that we make ourselves we will always want to blames other for our failures. If the purpose of reparation is to heal the division between races, it appears to miss the mark. If its purpose is to remind the future of past atrocities, it is being successful. If its purpose is to blame the past for today’s problems, it seems to serve little but to suave the egos of some. Slavery reparations are reprehensible, morally and legally incomprehensible because it is an attempt to force today’s civil and moral codes on previous generations.
NOTE: Author: Don Miller
|
2002 Articles |
|||