Doing the politically correct thing for Juneteenth, the U.S. Senate yesterday unanimously approved a resolution apologizing for slavery.
I’ve said in the past that I think talk is cheap, and in this case, it’s even cheaper. The U.S. abolished slavery in 1865. The apology was implicit in the action. The abolition was the public acknowledgment that something wrong had been done and the law was being changed. I see absolutely no point in apologizing now, 150 years after the fact. Of what value is an apology from someone who did not commit the offense to someone who was not a victim of the offense?
The Senate resolution apologizes “on behalf of the people of the United States.” ‘Scuse me? Don’t go apologizing on my behalf. I’ve got nothing to apologize for. I wasn’t around in the 1800s. If and when I think I need to apologize for something, I’ll do it myself.
Bottom line: me and mine did nothing to you and yours. Don’t look to me for an apology for anything my ancestors might have done, or for reparations, either; I’ve never subscribed to “sins of the father.”
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, as irritating as he is, made a good point today about this apology being on behalf of the entire nation. He noted that half this country fought and died to abolish slavery and therefore has nothing to apologize for.
Sing it! I’m right there along with you. Come on, already, with the apologizing and demands for reparation. I was born in 1966. I had approximately nothing to do with it, and I am sick and tired of hearing about it as though I did.
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Then there are the Indians in upstate NY who think somebody should give them back the land they lost in the 1700s. Never saw an explanation of just how that would be accomplished …