In their passion to outbid their Democrat primary opponents, candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren are calling for reparations to be paid to African Americans for slavery. The supposed rationalization for the move is that blacks are unable to succeed in the USA because of the legacy of slavery. That means that society owes them reparations. At least that's what the Dems now say.
So let's think about this for a moment. First there are some obvious questions.
1. Why is this limited to blacks? Shouldn't there be reparations to Native Americans? Weren't their ancestors dispossessed without compensation? What about Jews? They suffered through long periods of blatant anti-Semitism. Should they get reparations? How about Japanese Americans? Weren't their forbears put in camps during World War II? Why is the line drawn at just blacks?
2. Which blacks get reparations. Take the example of Barack Obama. He's half white and half black. Would he pay reparations to himself? More seriously, since Obama's father was not descended from slaves, could he qualify for reparations? All the immigrants from Haiti in the last 30 years have no relationship with American slavery. Do they get reparations? If so, why?
3. Who pays reparations? My grandparents came to the USA from Europe long after the end of slavery in the USA? If they had nothing to do with slavery, why should I have to pay reparations? there are tens of millions of people in this category.
4. Why do the African Americans need reparations? It is ludicrous to say that blacks cannot succeed in the USA. Just look at all the ones who do. Look how many congressmen and senators are black. Look at the NFL and the NBA. Look at African American people in business who have enormous fortunes. Look at the blacks in the entertainment industry. Someone like Oprah Winfrey hasn't be held back at all. Why would she get reparations?
Besides these questions, there is a more important philosophical underpinning for the idea of reparations. Should the focus of our society be on who are the descendants of victims from centuries ago? Alternatively, should the focus of society be on advancing as many as possible of today's Americans. In other words, do we want our society to become ever more successful or is the goal to not worry about helping future success, but instead to expend our energies dealing with the deeds and consequences of our long dead ancestors?
There's no end in sight if we choose the reparations method. Hey, 2000 plus years ago, the Romans crucified Jesus. Should today's Christians seek reparations from Italy for that act? That may sound ridiculous, but it's not much more ridiculous than the idea of paying reparations to todays African Americans.
So let's think about this for a moment. First there are some obvious questions.
1. Why is this limited to blacks? Shouldn't there be reparations to Native Americans? Weren't their ancestors dispossessed without compensation? What about Jews? They suffered through long periods of blatant anti-Semitism. Should they get reparations? How about Japanese Americans? Weren't their forbears put in camps during World War II? Why is the line drawn at just blacks?
2. Which blacks get reparations. Take the example of Barack Obama. He's half white and half black. Would he pay reparations to himself? More seriously, since Obama's father was not descended from slaves, could he qualify for reparations? All the immigrants from Haiti in the last 30 years have no relationship with American slavery. Do they get reparations? If so, why?
3. Who pays reparations? My grandparents came to the USA from Europe long after the end of slavery in the USA? If they had nothing to do with slavery, why should I have to pay reparations? there are tens of millions of people in this category.
4. Why do the African Americans need reparations? It is ludicrous to say that blacks cannot succeed in the USA. Just look at all the ones who do. Look how many congressmen and senators are black. Look at the NFL and the NBA. Look at African American people in business who have enormous fortunes. Look at the blacks in the entertainment industry. Someone like Oprah Winfrey hasn't be held back at all. Why would she get reparations?
Besides these questions, there is a more important philosophical underpinning for the idea of reparations. Should the focus of our society be on who are the descendants of victims from centuries ago? Alternatively, should the focus of society be on advancing as many as possible of today's Americans. In other words, do we want our society to become ever more successful or is the goal to not worry about helping future success, but instead to expend our energies dealing with the deeds and consequences of our long dead ancestors?
There's no end in sight if we choose the reparations method. Hey, 2000 plus years ago, the Romans crucified Jesus. Should today's Christians seek reparations from Italy for that act? That may sound ridiculous, but it's not much more ridiculous than the idea of paying reparations to todays African Americans.
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