In a newspaper interview this past Monday, Mr Frank Hargrove, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, was asked whether he would support a proposed state resolution apologizing for slavery. He responded that "...black citizens should get over it." Not content to hit rhetorical rock bottom, Delegate Hargrave continued to dig himself deeper into the hole by going on to ask "Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?"

For callous insensitivity, these comments are worthy of an award, and the response from both blacks and Jews (not to mention just about everyone else) has been harsh, entirely predictable, and fully justified. We expect a higher standard of behavior and expression of our elected officials, and should hold them to account when they don't deliver.

But having said that, I think it's important to acknowledge that Mr Hargrove, albeit in a graceless and insensitive way, gave voice to what some people in this country think about race relations. A muted undercurrent of opinon points out that slavery was eliminated in America nearly 150 years ago, that the last slave and the last slaveholder died more than 50 years ago, and that America does not get the credit it deserves for acknowledging the stain of slavery on our history and attempting to improve the social and economic position of black citizens. Why, some people quietly ask, are we still being beaten up and asked to atone for evils done by people long dead in an the course of an institution long since abandoned and repudiated?

There's an undeniable power in the words, "I'm sorry." Everyone who has ever been married learns that lesson right away. In some cultures, ritual apology is an important part of resolving issues and moving beyond them. Consider the apologies rendered by modern German leaders for the monstrous evils of the Holocaust. Consider also the incident in 2001 in which a Chinese fighter plane collided with an American surveillance aircraft over what the U.S. insisted was international waters, but the Chinese claimed as part of their 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The Chinese insisted on a formal apology before returning the interned aircrew and the damaged aircraft, while the U.S. government refused to apologize, holding that this would acknowledge that the Chinese were in the right. The incident was finally resolved in a delicate diplomatic dance in which the U.S. government acknowledged regret for the incident without actually apologizing.

So let's move on. If it's important for black citizens to know that the country has formally acknowledged and apologized for slavery, let's go ahead and do it. Let the President make a prime-time address to the nation, preferably on the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, expressing sorrow and apologizing for the evils done in the past. And then let's get on with making things right today.

If you have a few minutes, go back in the archives and read my post from December 17th of last year in which I pondered the rhetorical question asked by Lance Morrow: "What if no one ever forgets (evils done in the past)?" Memory is a good thing as far as it helps us to remember past evils and take action to ensure that they are never repeated. But, as Mr Morrow points out, "Obsessive memory mandates revenge."

Let's face the long-past evil of slavery without dwelling on it. Without attempting to minimize the evil, let's recognize that the nation ended it a century and a half ago and has since made great strides toward improving the economic and social position of its black citizens. Let's formally acknowledge the wrong, offer an apology from the national heart, and move forward in a spirit of cooperation to build a better future.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo