Absurdity in Misguided Logic: Slavery Reparations.
During on of the darkest periods in American history, America fought itself over one of the most controversial issues ever to be argued: slavery. The industry of the slave trade has been around for many thousands of years; even the Ancient Egyptians had slaves to help them construct their empire. However, the morality of slavery is obviously at the bottom of the moral ladder. Traditionally, people who have been wronged receive some sort of compensation for their wronging. The American government compensated only the immediate families of Japanese Americans who served in internment camps during World War II with money and recognition of suffering. The American slave population, at its height, was almost four million people. In order to pay back African American descendants of slaves, the government would have to shell out between 1.6 and 777 trillion dollars to satisfy those in favor of slavery reparations. The idea that every descendant of a slave deserves something for their ancestors" suffering and work is ultimately flawed. The Americans that do not believe in slavery reparations should step forward in society and make it known that slavery reparations are wrong because descendants of slave owners should not be held accountable for their ancestor's actions.
Before the Civil War Era, slavery was very widespread, but not as widespread as many may think. In fact, only one in five white southern men owned slaves and the number is exponentially smaller in northern white men. In addition to this, there were over three thousand black slave owners during this time. If slavery reparations are instituted, are the descendants of black slave owners to pay as well as the white owners? Not to be forgotten, the immigrants of this country that came here after the Civil War should absolutely not have to suffer because of 150 year old mistakes. The fact that so many Americans do not have a connection, and that countless black descendants do have a connection to slavery definitively blurs the line of innocence and guilt.
