America’s shame?

Some people spend a lot of time reminding us of the shameful things in our past, like slavery and the way we dealt with native Americans and the expansionist policies that lead us to sweep across the American continent in the early days and absorb the land claims of the Spanish and French and British. Here is a somewhat different outlook on this history.

It is true that in our early days parts of our nation endorsed slavery, as has much of the rest of the world through most of history. But in fact we fought our way out of that mindset, at the cost of a bitter civil war, which is more than some parts of the world, especially northern Africa and some Middle East countries, have done to this day.

It is true that in earlier centuries we overran the Native American tribes, and broke most of the treaties we made with them, just as happened in almost all cases in history when a more advanced civilization displaced a less advanced one. But in fact we have largely grown out of that and our courts and legal system have been defending their rights in recent years, which is more than happens for minorities in many part of the world to this day.

It is true that in our early days we engaged is a systematic expansion to absorb the land claims on this continent of the Spanish, French and British, who of course would have just as readily taken land from the new American nation if they could. In that our behavior was exactly like that of most peoples through history, and like more than a few nations even today. But we have grown out of that, and despite plenty of opportunity to conquer more land with our superior armed forces, we no longer do so.

It is true that we have on occasion oppressed minorities, be they Irish or Italian or Native American or black or women, or what have you. But in fact we have been growing out of that, largely because of the American ethic of equality, which is more than can be said for most of the world, where oppression of this or that local minority often isn’t even a subject for public discussion.

I don’t think American’s have to apologize for ancestors who held views that, while not enlightened by today’s American standards, were common if not universal in their day, and are still common in parts of the world today. On the contrary, I think Americans ought to be proud of the steady progress our nation has made, and is still making, toward enlightened views. This is more than can be said for most of the rest of the world.