LATELY, the nightly news has been awash with stories about skyrocketing gas prices and other controversies here at home. But while it seemed like relations among the world's people were calming down, old flames were re-ignited and have done wonders to spice up international scene.
In the past weeks, several prominent figures have used the calm world backdrop to bring back old controversies. On March 12, Pope John Paul II issued an apology for Catholic sins against minorities over the past millennium. A state away from us, the Maryland legislature is considering a bill that would ask Gov. Parris Glendening (D) to apologize to blacks for slavery on Sept. 22, 138 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Although the pope and the bill offer genuine regrets for past grievances, they only dredge up the past instead of encouraging people to concentrate on present, more pressing political problems.
Like racial discrimination itself, Maryland's bill and the pope's apology simply are not necessary. From the perspective of either our local community or our world community, the apologies create more problems than they attempt to resolve.
It is not likely that a great number of the American people ever have been involved in discrimination as serious as the enslavement of an entire race or the Inquisition. Not every victim holds responsible every person racially or religiously affiliated with his oppressors. The pope's and Maryland's apology, however, recreate an entire race of victims and oppressors. The apologies tag blacks and non-Catholic minorities as victims of oppression that took place centuries ago by making them recipients of apology.
The apologies likewise blame living whites and Catholics for centuries of persecution. This is temporally impossible, as anyone living today had no influence on past events, so an apology from or to any contemporary person is unnecessary.
As a public institution, the University has tried to compensate for past discrimination of minorities. The consideration of race in admissions is a form of affirmative action, and the purpose of affirmative action is to balance traditional minority disadvantages with advantages based purely on race.
This is not only a built-in apology but something better for minorities. A sharp minority student, who was oppressed much less than his ancestors, probably would never accept an apology on behalf of his race. This would forgive the past discriminations, and affirmative action no longer would be necessary to compensate for the past. Apologies such as the pope's serve to fabricate victims and oppressors and would end programs supported by minorities.
Not only are apologies for past injustices unnecessary, they are meaningless. If the forces of political correctness dictated that everyone apologize for the past atrocities of their ancestors, and we could not draw the line on being sorry.
White Americans would have to apologize to much of the country for past oppression, even though they never enslaved or otherwise persecuted their neighbors. At the same time, Japanese-Americans would be apologizing to Chinese-Americans for atrocities from World War II and before, and blacks would be apologizing for enslaving each other centuries ago and even for cannibalism between rival tribes.
If Americans apologized to each other as the pope or the Maryland bill would recommend, the effects would be somewhat ridiculous. Minorities might take offense when every white person they encounter offers them an apology.
Apologies for past oppressions from representatives of prominent cultural or religious groups fabricate another issue to divide people. Perhaps someone can take blame for the oppressive gas prices so demographic minorities and majorities can debate on the same side for once.
(Brian Gillis is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
Read More
SULLIVAN: QR codes have crashed the party
By Scarlett Sullivan | 6 hours agoUndeniably, having such barriers to entry for the University’s nightlife explicitly squashes fun.
BRUNMAN: Politicization should not determine the Board of Visitors
By Wylie Brunman | 2 days agoAs an institution responsible to University students and Virginia voters, the main qualification standard for Board appointment ought to be some personal connection to both these stakeholders.
LETTER: Your U.Va. Health System coverage lacks important context
4 days agoI understand this event could be seen as “breaking news,” but your reporting left out relevant, easy-to-find, publicly available data to give it proper context.
