Owning Our Successes, and Our Failures
Owning Our Successes, and Our Failures
The past few weeks have seen a number of positive steps toward righting the wrongs of the Jim Crow era. The Senate formally apologized for rejecting decades of pleas to make lynching a federal crime. Justice was finally served to Edgar Ray Killen, who murdered three civil rights workers in 1964. And new evidence (revealed in Keith A. Beauchamp’s film The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till) has sparked a new investigation into the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till.
Still many are asking, “Why bother?” Some — including Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) — ask why we should apologize for the actions (or inactions) of senators long past. Others wonder why, after 50 years, the FBI has decided to reopen the Emmett Till case. Why not just leave the past — and the truth — buried?
The answer, I think, is found in the preamble of our Constitution, which contains the words “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and to our posterity.” The Founders were speaking for all Americans — past, present, and future. Surely no one alive today had any part in writing the Constitution or Declaration of Independence, but Americans proudly claim these documents as their own. But when the topics of slavery and crimes against Native Americans come up, no one wants to claim responsibility. President Kennedy was right: failure is an orphan.
America’s past failings belong to all Americans just as much as the Founders’ ideals and successes do. And so, rather than ask what the crimes of 50 years ago have to do with us, we should be asking our government to do more to right the wrongs. It’s time for us to confront our nation’s past of racial injustice head-on and do our best to make amends so we can more fully realize our Constitutional and democratic calling.
– Michael Thompson, CampusProgress
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For much more detail, see:
“Mississippi Wounds Still Unhealed”
June 29th, 2005 at 1:43 pmWell said. amen.
June 29th, 2005 at 2:05 pmYou make several good points and I agree to a great extent with your views on taking ownership and accountability and righting the wrongs of our past. However, I’m concerned about the financial costs? Opening up closed cases at taxpayer expense is costly. And who’s to say that in 50 years time, someone might question the recent verdict in the Killen case and re-open it? Also, what happens when the descendents of the victim(s) seek compensation for the injustice? Do we own that too? I think we need to be careful or this can quickly get out of control. I agree that correcting injustice is the right thing to do, I suggest financial limitations be placed on the trial cost and any resulting monetary compensation.
June 29th, 2005 at 2:31 pmSurely, mikey, how can you question the money involved in compensating victims when the US is currently waging wars with other nations, that is costing taxpayers billions of dollars of their money? Your comment also assumes that these victims are only looking for ways to benefit monetarily, and overlooks the point of the article. One can worry about the financial issues, but it’s secondary, even tertiary, to the ethical significance of acknowledging injustices made by a system that is designed to supposedly protect everyone. The article is asking Americans not only to own up to our failures but also to reevaluate our values and learn from past mistakes so that such injustices aren’t allowed to reoccur. The importance, for example, of Japanese-Americans’, who were interned in WWII, voicing the injustices done to them outvalued the few thousands of dollars they received for compensation. The formal apology they received by the US gov was acknowledgment of US gov’s blatant racism towards a group and its denial of its members’ basic human and civil rights and a hopeful step (although post-9/11 actions demonstrate otherwise) towards eliminating such institiionalize violations of rights.
June 29th, 2005 at 4:06 pmTT, I would ask the same monetary question before waging a war. I’m pissed that the Iraq war is costing taxpayers money, and more importantly human lives. And speaking of owning up to injustices, I don’t think we’ll see the final bill for Iraq in my lifetime. But my comment does not assume that the victims are only looking for money. If I am not mistaken, it was the government that re-opened the case, not any victims. And they aren’t looking for money in this case, but the potential exists is all I’m trying to say. If the formal apology was sufficient, why were victims also compensated monetarily? Was it a token gesture? I’m just saying let’s think about the ramifications of the precedent we are setting here before we get too far in.
June 29th, 2005 at 4:25 pmYes, it was tragic that the gov’t “eminent domained” the Native Americans off of their land.
Too bad a similar (but less tragic) thing is happening in Connecticut.
June 29th, 2005 at 5:30 pmLeftists are unreal. First of all let me say, if there is any way a murderer can be brought to justice, no matter how old the crime, I’m all for it, regardless of the cost. Just promise me if they are found guilty they will be executed.
June 29th, 2005 at 6:49 pmNow lets talk about racism. How leftists who gravitate towards the dhimmicrat party think they hold the high ground in racial discussions, is totally beyond me. Lets remember who it was that was distributing anti-Semitic literature in conjunction with your make believe impeachment hearing. Dean even tried to distance himself from that moment of truthfulness, you know, Dean, the guy who wanted to be the candidate for the “Confederate sticker” crowd, who said the only blacks invited to Republican functions were the serving staff! Nice. And who is it that has a former organizer and leader of the kkk representing their party in the Senate? Yes, that crazy old Byrd, who not so long ago was dropping N-bombs in an interview, revealing more than just dementia. Speaking of the kkk, that organization was founded as the terrorist wing of the democratic party. The Republican party was founded to end slavery. Who is it that tries to use race to divide this country every election cycle? Who was it who called Judge Thomas, Gen. Powell and Sec. Rice, Uncle Toms? Liberals. Sharpton and Jackson, I could go on for hours sighting those two’s many racist actions. Who disenfranchised voters? I would say it was the party who was paying for black votes with CRACK! That’s “progressive” right there.
And why is it liberals think there is no place for democracy in the middle east? What is that based on if not a lowered expectation for Arab peoples? Speaking of lowered expectations, how is affirmative action reconciled with Dr. Kings dream? “Content of his character” indeed!
The Senate should be dealing with more serious matters, like securing the borders. But wait, now that debate is being framed as a racial issue, as if the dead illegal immigrants that are strewn across the ranches left to die of thirst and exposure, women and children left drowning in the rivers, or suffocating in trailers would not benefit by the deterrence a secured border would offer human smugglers. Let’s also remember that it is, for the most part, Hispanics who are preying on one another, raping and robbing these illegals, taking their money then leaving them to die.
You guys just keep on, 2006 is just around the corner, it looks as if you want to give Republicans another present. We will take it. You frame the murder investigations and the Senate grandstanding as related, to imply Republicans are against those investigations by binding them to a worthless Senate apology, is well, just what I expect from you.
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November 1st, 2005 at 7:37 am