Apologizing for Slavery

When somebody who has never owned a slave apologizes for slavery to somebody who has never been a slave, then what began as mushy thinking has degenerated into theatrical absurdity–or, worse yet, politics.

Slavery has existed all over the planet for thousands of years, with black, white, yellow and other races being both slaves and enslavers. Does that mean that everybody ought to apologize to everybody else for what their ancestors did? Or are the only people who are supposed to feel guilty the ones who have money that others want to talk them out of?

This craze for aimless apologies is part of a general loss of a sense of personal responsibility in our time. We are supposed to feel guilty for what other people did but there are a thousand cop-outs for what we ourselves did to those we did it too.

Thomas Sowell, Dismantling America

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2 Responses to Apologizing for Slavery

  1. johngoossen says:

    Apologizing has become such a copout; a way to avoid repentance and confession. It’s so discouraging to hear “I am sorry if I offended you” as a way of mitigating the guilt of sin in the church. So yes I think we live in a culture of pointless apologies. Having said that, I do believe we share in federal responsibility for the wickedness of our nation. Oh for the leaves of the Tree of Life!

    • Seth says:

      Well-said. The imagery of the healing leaves is a wonderful anticipation. As you said, balance.

      I’ve often thoughtabout Daniel’s use of the first person plural, “we” when he confesses the nation’s sins in Daniel 9.

      But Sowell’s point is still valid that liberals can use group apologies like they use climate jargon to accomplish a political end.Men will use any method to advance their vision of the world.

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