What is our responsibility for the atrocities of our ancestors?
I have had this discussion with many people, and I was just thinking about it again, as I’m studying for my History of Africa final tomorrow. When I look at my white skin, the skin of my ancestors I can’t help but feel responsible for the atrocities that have happened globally. Recently I am embarrassed to call myself an American, and often claim Canadian citizenship when talking to others in Europe (or quickly apologizing for the actions of the country I was born in). I felt bad for the thousands of Iraqi innocent civilians that had died
But on a more massive scale, what about the over 15 million African taken from Africa and sold throughout the Americas? My mother’s side is from Mississippi, they had a hand it that exploitation. My father’s side is French, British and German. The three countries that divided up Africa at the Berlin Conference, painting a map of Africa with their respective colors, conquering native lands, slaughtering local populations, destroying native culture. The current African problems are directly related to the colonization, the selling off of the best of the youth for 300 years to lands where they would be overworked, underfed and dead within three years
I feel responsible. I see my white skin as a IOU to the African continent. My ancestors took their people, their language, their history, their culture and now it is my job to help make it right. I feel that it is America, along with Europe to fix the errors in Africa that we helped cause. They were fine before we got there, so why can’t we help them get back to where they were, world traders?
Those are just my thoughts, what do you guys think? What is our responsibilty based on ethnicity, religion, economic class, whatever to help those people and countries that have been screwed over in the past?
I’m a pretty liberal guy,
I’m a pretty liberal guy, but I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the ancestral responsibility argument. I do not accept ‘responsibility’ for actions I had no participation in. Go back through anyone’s ancestral line long enough and you’ll find injustice on a personal and group level. This is the big problem in the middle-east. Literally centuries-old grudges making up 98% of the current problem.
I believe that anyone who directly suffered through specific injustices/atrocities (e.g. Japanese-Americans interred during WWII) should be compensated for what was done to them, but the idea of trying to assign blame or responsibility to decedents to right every historical wrong by is simply unrealistic. Holding a child accountable for the sins of the father is one of the parts of the Old Testament that many people have a hard time with, and I agree with the idea that the idea is inherently flawed.
I do recognize the tragic history of modern-day Africa & African Americans, but why would I single them out over any other group or individual?
Children are not born into equal circumstances. Some are born into rich countries, and others into poor countries. Some are born into rich families, and others into poor families. The part of me that wants justice would prefer a world where every child was born into the exact same circumstances, but that leads down a very complicated road.
What I do believe is that those who are more fortunate should help those who are less fortunate, regardless of the events that led to the situation. We should help Africa, not because of what America may have done historically, but because it’s the right thing to do.